Transfer News: Chelsea sceptical about signing French ace Ousmane Dembele.
According to the Daily Mail, in a press conference, Barcelona president Joan Laporta said that the club believes Chelsea target Ousmane Dembele has already agreed to move to another team in the summer, despite staying back with the Catalan club in January.
The France international is in the final six months of his contract at Barcelona and could not find a transfer destination away from Spain in the winter transfer window. January saw numerous rumours of a move to a new club for Dembele, with Chelsea one among these sides linked with the winger.
Laporta explained how the transfer situation regarding the player is now complicated. Dembele remaining with the club despite not committing to a future with Barcelona beyond the end of the season is a major setback to the Catalans, who were keen to part ways last month.
“The Dembele thing is difficult to understand. Dembele is in the team and Xavi has to build a competitive squad with players who have a future at this club.”
Dembele now faces an uncertain future in Spain, with the player refusing to sign a new contract to extend his stay at Barcelona. This has led to an ugly spat between club and player, with Barca telling the Frenchman that he must leave if he has no plans to commit to the club for the future.
Sky Sports reported that Chelsea are interested in the 24-year-old, and have been linked with a summer move for the Frenchman at the end of the season. Dembele has previously worked with Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund during his short career in the Bundesliga.
With Barcelona looking to cash in on the forward in January, a move failed to emerge. Now, Dembele is certain to stay until the end of the season, but Laporta does not believe they can convince the winger to stay beyond that period.
“We think that Dembele already has a contract with another club, they have insinuated that to us. What we will do is defend the interests of our club.”
Fans of Dembele will be eyeing what the next few months hold in store for the player, who seems stuck between a rock and a hard place. Earlier, the player had reiterated his desire to play for the club until the summer, but the club was not keen on extending the relationship if a renewal wasn’t penned.
The winter transfer window has come and gone, and with it Barcelona’s last chance of cashing in on the Frenchman. With him now potentially set to leave on a free, Chelsea could land themselves a top player with much to prove on a Bosman.
The Blues already have a manager in Tuchel who had worked with Dembele before and managed to get the best out of him. Whether a reunion is on the cards remains to be seen.
A summer move could be on the cards if rumours are to be believed, with the Blues able to snap up Dembele for free after his contract expires at the end of the season. Having spent eye-popping amounts on forwards in the last few years, the opportunity to sign a player with Dembele’s qualities for nothing is a great deal to pursue.
Laporta has claimed that the player has already sought a move to a new club in the summer, but has not hinted at which club this could be. It is anyone’s guess as to which club he is referring to, but Chelsea could very well be one of the contenders, having been linked to the World Cup winner throughout the January transfer window.
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