Roberto Fernandez flew on Sunday to Rennes watch Ousmane Dembele in person.

Barcelona has begun to target Dembele, who had a hat-trick in the match and is just 18 years old.

No player under the age of 20 in the top European leagues has scored more frequently than Dembele, who has netted nine times in just 1,203 minutes on the pitch.

Dembele is lethal in the penalty area and also is two-footed. His rate of successful dribbles is second only to Marseille's Lassana Diarra in Ligue 1.

Dembele's combination of skills are reminiscent of Neymar.

"Neymar is my only role model," Dembele said two years ago when playing in the youth team.

Dembele signed a new three-year contract in October.

"I will take a chance and say that he can win Ballon d'Or. I saw Cristiano Ronaldo at the same age at Manchester United, and Ousmane has characteristics that remind me of the young Portuguese," Rennes project director Mikael Silvestre said in January.