Dembele prohibited from turning off his phone LaLiga Santander - Barcelona Club tightening down on the player

Barcelona are persisting in their mission to rehabilitate Ousmane Dembele and Ernesto Valverde is happy with the player's evolution, believing that the Frenchman has taken a notable step forward despite green shoots still appearing from time.

The problems that exist are nothing football-related and are to do with his personal life and behaviour, but Valverde insisting that the forward is a good kid.

That doesn't appear to be up for debate, he has no enemies and everyone wants him to succeed, but the club, his coach and teammates are clear when they express their opinion that something has to change.

Nightlife appears to be the main problem, though not what immediately springs to mind with that word.

While Neymar spent his evenings playing poker, Dembele enjoys playing video games and watching television series and he remains fixed on a screen until the early hours of the morning, which is his main issue.

On Sunday he slept in again and, once more, turned up two hours late for training and the club are insistent that they will take measures, with the player now not allowed to turn off his phone or even leave it on silent during the night.

The club are tightening down on Dembele in the hopes that their 150 million euros won't go to waste and the 200,000 euros fine handed to the player will, hopefully, be felt.