French forward Ousmane Dembele recently sent shockwaves through world football when the forward scored back-to-back hat-tricks.

The first treble came in the UEFA Champions League against Stuttgart, with the second in Ligue 1 against Brest just five days later. For a player who is more accustomed to assisting than finishing, the streak is especially surprising considering the frontman scored just six times in 51 matches last term.

Paris Saint-Germain fans have been witnessing the emergence of Dembele 2.0 throughout the season. Besides his consecutive trebles, the former Barcelona man has already scored 21 goals in all competitions, more than in his last three seasons combined (17). You have to go back to the 2018/19 season, when he played for Barça, to remember his most prolific season when he contributed 14 goals and eight assists – five fewer than he's managed in 24/25, with five months of the season to go.

"He's in top form at the moment," his coach Luis Enrique recently said. "Obviously, his numbers have already improved compared to his previous seasons as a professional. However, setting limits is not our aim with Ousmane."

Famed for his managerial prowess and unrelenting demands, Enrique is the first coach to have brought out the goalscorer in Dembele. Despite occasionally resorting to unexpected choices, like when he didn't include the former Rennes man for a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League, the Spanish coach has managed to find the right balance and PSG have reaped the rewards.

When pressed to define the reasons for this new impetus, the man in question is modest and praises the team's work above all else. ''That's all well and good, but today I feel that the team should be congratulated, especially those who delivered the assists," he told BeIN Sports after his impressive display against Brest. "All I had to do with the first goal was tap it in."

This flurry of goals has come about following Enrique moving Dembele from the right wing to the central striker spot in his side, a position the likes of Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos have failed to make their own.

"I'm feeling good in the number nine role and my job is to score goals," commented Dembele, who is the top marksman in the division at the time of writing with 16 goals, following his hat-trick in Brest. "I used to play on the right side of midfield, glued to the line, making it harder to score goals. I would have to dribble past three or four players to get a shot on goal. Now there's only one, or I just have to poke it in the back of the net."

The breakthrough came one evening in December at home to Lyon, when the 27-year-old took just eight minutes to capitalise on his new position and open the scoring. Since then, he has not stopped finding the net, regardless of whether he starts up front or swaps places with Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue or new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

He has now scored 15 goals in his last nine games, including another brace in a 4-1 win over Monaco in Ligue 1 last Friday. During that time, he has not provided a single assist after making eight in his first 11 appearances this season. This stat would appear to be confirmation of his abrupt transformation.

His current form has been showered with praise in France, and national coach Didier Deschamps was quick to offer his own analysis. "He has improved his finishing a great deal, and it's no surprise given his talent," he was quoted as saying in L'Équipe earlier this month. "It has something to do with his change of position, but you have to remember that Ousmane has always been very effective in front of goal during training sessions and end-of-training drills. Plus, he can do it with both feet. We can never overlook that side of him."

The Parisians have plenty to fight for over the coming months, as they look to win an invincible Ligue 1 title, while battling for the Coupe de France and Champions League crowns. Once those competitions are over, they'll turn their attention to FIFA Club World Cup 2025 in June, where they will face Atlético de Madrid, Botafogo and Seattle Sounders in the United States. In his current form, the FIFA World Cup winner will more than fancy his chances at finishing as the event's top scorer.