Into the spotlight
Over the years, whether it was at Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, national side France or current team PSG, Dembele has been in the shadow of others who have stolen the limelight from him.
Most notably, Kylian Mbappe at PSG and at France, which has seen him cast wide to the wing as he's searched for a place in each of his sides.
Transfer fees have also piled pressure on him. In his career, he has been sold for more than 200 million euros across three sales - something that does put pressure on a player.
These two factors, then, have seen his returns not live up to the fees or hype that he had as a young player. Now 27, it seemed as if he was destined to remain in the shadows.
But his run of form at the start of 2025 is showing, finally, that potential he has been striving for.
Clinical finishing
Since January 1st, Dembele has 11 goals in five starts with one coming from the penalty spot. In two of the six games he made an appearance, the Frenchman has also netted back-to-back hat-tricks - one in the Champions League against Stuttgart and the other against Brest. Incredibly, before those two games, he had only netted one hat-trick across his whole career.
His tally of 11 is even more remarkable when you look at how many times he has passed that number in a single season. It has happened just once, back when he first started out with Rennes in the 2015/16 season where he scored 12 in 26 league games, paving his way to the Bundesliga.
What has brought about this incredible turnaround? Part of it has been moving to play in the central areas. Normally positioned on the wing in his career, in recent weeks he has taken the spot of Goncalo Ramos and the now loaned-out Marco Asensio to lead the line for the Parisiens.
That move has sparked a revelation in Dembele - the move to the centre has seen him score goals, but more importantly at a great rate. In that time, Dembele - according to Opta - had an xG of 6.48. This shows some clinical finishing and when he hits the target during this period, he more often than not scores, converting 11 of 19 shots that were going in.
With all of this taken into account, he scored an 8.4 rating over the last month in Flashscore's rating system.
'No equal'
His form hasn't gone unnoticed by coach Luis Enrique too.
After his hat-trick against Brest, the manager said of the forward: "He can dribble past two or three players, make decisive passes and score goals. Our objective with him has always been the same. He's a player who makes a difference…"
Luis Enrique added recently: "Ousmane can become the player he wants to be. If he remains confident in front of goal, he has no equal. He can score in any position, even with his head. He's a phenomenal player."
It seems that confidence from the coach is seeping into Dembele too. After rising to the top of the scoring charts in Ligue 1, he explained: "I'm well placed, I'm in the role of number nine and I have to score goals. It was a game where I played a bit of a carrot behind the defence."
If this confidence continues throughout the rest of the season, Dembele will be a threat to all of Europe.
View from the ground
With this uptick in form, we asked Flashscore France senior editor Pablo Gallego what his thoughts were on the forward.
"Ousmane Dembele confessed that he felt 'better in front of goal' and that he was 'sharper'. It's a position he's very fond of, and one that has been unofficial for several weeks now. But the Stuttgart match proved to be the final turning point, as Luis Enrique 'made official' his new role by lining him up on his team sheet.
"The result: a hat-trick against the German club and then against Brest, making him the first player in PSG's history to score back-to-back hat-tricks.
"The Frenchman's good form is not solely due to this repositioning. Dembele has managed to put some water in his wine with Luis Enrique, who had been at odds with him at the end of 2024. While there was a time when his behaviour might have been problematic, due to a lack of maturity, today the former Barca and BVB winger is proving that he has grown mentally, listening to his coach's instructions, possible reprimands and, above all, advice.
"And with the Spaniard, this is the best formula to adopt, since he alone is the 'big boss' of the dressing room.
"Dembele, who has understood this, can now concentrate exclusively on his game. Paris Saint-Germain now have some interesting fixtures to look forward to, with a match against Monaco on Friday and a double-header against Brest in the Champions League.
"On the face of it, the Parisians should finish victorious in each of these encounters, three good first tests before facing Liverpool or Barcelona in the Round of 16. And there's no doubt that, if Ousmane Dembele continues on his current path, he could create quite an earthquake in Europe's biggest competition."
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