Left on the bench in the 4-2 win against Atlético Madrid at the weekend, Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé still is part of Xavi’s plans for the time being, even if the Frenchman has yet to sign a new contract with the La Liga club.
His future was one of the big stories of the January transfer market, with a belief the Catalan side would sell if someone came knocking with some money, but that never happened, and there is now the belief, at least within the Nou Camp, that he has already agreed a deal with another club for a free transfer next summer.
There has yet to be anything concrete on that, so the speculation continues to date, with Manchester United still among the possible destinations for the winger.
The Red Devils were touted as one of the clubs potentially ready to make a move in January, but Ralf Rangnick and co. decided against bringing anyone in for the sake of it midway through the season.
Looking at how Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and even Chelsea all made various moves to try and sign him, they also mention the Red Devils, with whom Barcelona ‘know first-hand’ the 24-year-old’s representative ‘has been meeting in recent weeks’.
They state ‘the only doubt will be the final role of Manchester United’, as ‘the English club have always loved Dembélé and need to strengthen their attack for their next project’.
While ‘they didn’t move for Ousmane’ in January, ‘they have already talked about figures with the Frenchman and they would be at Juve’s level’.
Brace yourselves, folks, this this just the beginning.
