New Barcelona signing Ousmane Dembele has denied that his €105million price tag places him under extra pressure to perform.
The 20-year-old has agreed a five-year contract in a deal that could cost as much as €145m, shattering the previous club-record fee Barca paid Liverpool to sign Luis Suarez in 2014.
But Dembele, whose official presentation at Camp Nou took place on Monday shortly after he completed a medical, says significant sums are now to be expected in the transfer market.
I m not under pressure, he told a media conference. The transfer market is a little crazy, but I m here to do my job well on the pitch and I m not thinking about this sort of thing.
Dembele was signed from Borussia Dortmund as a replacement for Neymar, who left for Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record €222m deal.
The France international, who has only had two seasons at senior level with Dortmund and Rennes, is expected to slot straight into head coach Ernesto Valverde s first team and ease the damage caused by Neymar s loss.
Welcome . We are bringing in talent, youth and excitement to our team. All the best!
— Josep Maria Bartomeu (@jmbartomeu)
But the forward is more concerned about learning from new team-mates Suarez and Lionel Messi than about the prospect of filling Neymar s shoes.
I m excited to play with the best. My goal is to learn from the best, from Messi, from Suarez, and to win as many trophies as possible, he said.
It s an honour, a pleasure to be able to play on a team with Messi. I want to see what he s doing, he s the best in the world, the best in history.
It s not extra pressure [to replace Neymar]. Of course, he is an excellent player but I m young, I m coming from my second season as a professional and I m trying to grow.
Barca needed a player in this position and they called me. But I come here to learn.
