Transfer News: Barcelona have held new contract meeting with the agent of Chelsea target Ousmane Dembele
According to Juanma Castano of COPE, as quoted by Helena Condis Edo via Fabrizio Romano (h/t Football.London), Barcelona have held a new meeting with the agent of Chelsea target Ousmane Dembele regarding a contract extension. The forward has regained form over the past few weeks under Xavi Hernandez, and he has finally shown signs of achieving his full potential at Camp Nou.
Dembele will be available on a free transfer after this season if he does not sign a contract extension with Barca in the coming months. The Blues have shown an interest in him, with Thomas Tuchel especially keen on bringing him to Stamford Bridge this summer. However, the latest update would have dealt him a blow, making it even more challenging to secure the winger’s services.
Mateu Alemany, the Catalans’ director, has recently met with Moussa Dembele, who represents Dembele, to discuss whether a renewal is on the cards or not. It is further claimed that the Spanish club remain rigid in their stance, and they are still trying to extend the attacker’s deal under their conditions.
Transfer blow for Chelsea?
It is far from confirmed that Dembele will stay at Camp Nou past this term based on the current update. After all, we are still in the dark about the meeting’s outcome that was held recently. That being said, it may still be a blow to our chances of signing, nonetheless, as it opens up the possibility of a renewal.
Xavi has been able to reinvigorate the attacker to get the best out of his abilities and Dembele has himself worked hard to recreate the form that he showed at Borussia Dortmund and Stade Rennais. The winger capped it off with yet another assist in their 1-0 victory against Sevilla that saw them get into the second spot in the La Liga table.
The 24-year-old has added another assist to his tally under Xavi, taking it to 10 from 21 matches. The forward also has two goals to his name under his new manager. Signing him would have been a good prospect for us, considering he could be a free agent this summer if there is no renewal.
We could use additions on the right flank- although an out-and-out winger isn’t a position we see too often in Thomas Tuchel’s system at Chelsea. The full-backs are often seen taking on the attacking responsibility down the flanks.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is another winger already struggling for minutes while Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech can play down that side. That being said, the chance to add a dynamic winger such as Dembele, that too potentially for free, should not be passed upon.
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It remains to be seen if we can sign the former Borussia Dortmund man or not at the end of this season. With Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal also vying to secure his signature, we certainly have obstacles to overcome to get a favourable outcome in this transfer race.
First of those would be to overcome the sanctions placed on us by the UK Government. Hopefully, the transition of power from Roman Abramovich to the new owners is complete soon- whenever that may be- so that we can focus our attention on the club’s day-to-day running once again.