Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has tipped Ousmane Dembele to become one of the best players in the world.
The pair have formed a lethal attack, along with Lionel Messi – just as long as they can keep up with their quick team-mate.
Dembele’s Barcelona career has been blighted by injury problems since making a £96million move from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
He was left out of Ernesto Valverde’s squad to face Real Betis in November after missing a training session due to a late gaming session, according to the Spanish press.
But the 21-year-old has turned his season around, scoring six goals in his last nine games and Barca currently lead second-placed Atletico Madrid by six points in La Liga.
Suarez told Spanish outlet Sport: “He’s young and had a lot of people tell him, ‘You’re going to be a superstar and everything will be great’.
“But the reality is there’s still so much to learn. That happened to me too. I had to live in that moment and what I have to do is support Ousmane.
“He’s got a lot of players in the dressing room he can learn professionalism from. No one can teach Ousmane how to kick a ball because he already knows that.
“But another thing is how you work and train. He needs his routines to keep getting better. Obviously he’s a player that is only getting started but I think he’s going to be one of the best in the world.”
When asked if he had played with a faster player than Dembele, Suarez, 32, said: “No. It isn’t that he hits the ball so far forward but at times we’re on the counter and I can’t get there in time!
“I’m not able to get there and Leo is even further behind of him.
“We said, ‘He goes really fast, we’ll never catch him!’
“When he starts to run, we need to start further ahead of him to be there at the right time. If not, it’s impossible to keep up.”