Chelsea target Ousmane Dembele is closing in on the exit door at Barcelona with just six months left on his contract in Spain.
The Blues have been heavily linked with a player move as Thomas Tuchel is a huge admirer of the talented 24-year-old.
There have been some big developments surrounding his uncertain future in Spain in recent days.
First, footmercato, about RouteOneFootball, reported that Barcelona were losing patience with the winger and this led to Xavi speaking to Dembele. If he decides against a contract extension, Barcelona will refuse to play him.
However, the report goes on to say that the Frenchman would cost up to €50m if a club wants to sign him in January, despite his contract expiring at the end of the season.
Then came reports from Spain revealing Dembele’s astronomical contract demands.
Gerhard Romero, via Reshad Rahman, said: “Dembele considers himself a world-class player and believes he should be paid as such. He has informed the club through his agents that he will neither leave this month nor renew under the terms proposed by Barça.”
As such, it looks like a departure is on the cards for the summer and there has been further speculation, as reported by Sport, via tribal footballthat Dembele has an agreement with a Premier League club.
Manchester United have reportedly been in contact with Dembele and his agent for the past 18 months and a deal was finalized before he picked up a knee injury at Euro last summer.
However, Chelsea are also a ‘prospect’ as Tuchel Dembele coached at Dortmund during the best period of his career.
IMAGO / Sven Simon
It was previously reported that Chelsea have contacted their agents about a possible transfer and it could be closer now.
It was believed that Tuchel ‘insisted’ on Chelsea signing the player due to their positive relationship with Dortmund.
Reportedly, ‘Chelsea have the ability to pay Dembele what he wants and could easily bring him to Stamford Bridge if Tuchel convinces the Blues to make a move.
This follows reports that the Blues are “particularly” interested in the winger after “following him closely”.
It remains to be seen if Tuchel’s side will make a move for Dembele in the transfer window or maybe wait until the summer to sign the France international on a free transfer but the rumors won’t go away.
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Reference-www.nach-welt.com