Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele is ‘most likely’ to join a Premier League club if he goes anywhere before the transfer window shuts next week.
Dembele is out of contract at Camp Nou at the end of season and therefore on course to leave the club as a free agent if no new deal is agreed, unless he is sold this month.
Barça director Mateu Alemany made the club’s stance clear just over a week ago.
“It’s clear that Dembele does not want to continue with Barcelona,” Alemany explained. “He doesn’t want to be part of our project. We told Dembele he has to leave immediately. We expect Ousmane to be sold before 31 January.”
The player took issue with the comments and it was later reported that he does wish to stay with Barça and had requested a face-to-face meeting with president Joan Laporta. His agent has also attributed blame to the club for previous contract talks stalling in this messy saga.
At a meeting on Thursday, Barça are believed to have stood firm on their stance, informing the player and his agent to find a new team. From the player’s perspective, he is willing to sign a new contract and remain committed to the club, but not the short-term deal with a pay cut on offer.
Sky Sports reports that the club have ‘made it clear they want him out now’, with the Premier League the ‘most likely’ destination if a transfer is to take place.
With Barcelona not prepared to increase their offer, they will lose Dembele without a transfer fee if they cannot find a buyer in the next few days and are seemingly willing to help his camp secure a new club. That is also assuming neither side suddenly backs down in the contract stand-off.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle are among those that have been linked.
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