Injured Dembélé leaves Luis Enrique facing tactical puzzle at Villarreal

Ousmane Dembélé will not travel to Villarreal on Tuesday. Injured during the clash against FC Barcelona, the French international leaves Luis Enrique without his primary attacking catalyst and forces the PSG staff to completely rethink the orchestration of its attack.

For Guillaume Hoarau, former PSG striker turned consultant, the question is not simply about finding a replacement profile. “The question isn’t: who can be like Ousmane Dembélé or who can play like Ousmane, but who will be able to take on this role and put themselves at the service of Luis Enrique’s game plan?” Four names emerge in this debate: Désiré Doué, Ferran Torres, Maghnes Akliouche and Senny Mayulu — profiles so complementary that Hoarau ironically suggests “they would need to be merged”.

When it comes to deciding, the former striker first leans towards the Spaniard. “Naturally, if I were the coach, I would choose Ferran Torres.” His reasoning rests on modern number 9 criteria: while Torres “is not an associative striker or one who drops deep like Dembélé”, he possesses according to Hoarau “the reflexes of the position, with attacking depth and presence in the box”. The former Parisian also sees a logic of momentum: “You sense he is fresh, that he has the right mindset, because he continues to create situations for himself. He needs matches to regain his efficiency.”

But the final choice will depend on the options chosen on the wings. If Luis Enrique deploys profiles that attack depth — such as Désiré Doué or Torres himself on the flank — tactical balance then requires a number 9 capable of connecting the lines rather than finishing. “And there, it’s more Akliouche or Mayulu. It’s a question of balance,” Hoarau sums up.

Between the need to restart a pure finisher and the demand for collective fluidity inherent to Luis Enrique’s system, the Spanish tactician will have to resolve a dilemma that illustrates just how dependent PSG remains on its international winger.