Robert Fernandez: Why is Dembele's lateness being revealed so quickly?

Barcelona's former sporting director Robert Fernandez said the club must do more to protect Ousmane Dembele while speaking on Movistar Liga de Campeones. 

Robert, who was behind the signing of the Frenchman, added that the club were already aware of his punctuality problems when they signed him. 

Dembele's lateness: "To a certain point, it's not that bad. I've seen many players sleep in. What I ask myself is why this news comes out so quickly. How is it possible that these things become known so easily? I'm not saying there's a campaign inside the club, but I think you have to do more to protect the player. He's made mistakes but tou have to defend him the same way as other players and try to make the situation more favourable." 

'Scouting' before signing: "We already knew about the [over] sleeping, but we wanted to bring him in because he has huge quality. It's a problem that can bee sorted. If he'd been 27, we wouldn't have done it, but he's still only 21 and I think Barcelona are capable of sorting it out." 

Dressing room support: "I have ready that the captains spoke with Ousmane. If that's true, it's very important. He will understand things much quicker if they come from the dressing room. In the dressing room, there are players that can teach him a lot of things."