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Despite Thomas Tuchel pouring cold water over claims of deadline day talks for Ousmane Dembele, the claims still continue in parts of the Catalan media.

Saturday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo reports Chelsea ‘pressed the most’ on Monday to take the Frenchman to Stamford Bridge.

The move never happened, largely because the Barcelona player and his agents want to take advantage of free agent status in the summer.

There’s been no hiding from the reality that this situation is mainly about money, and what can be extracted from a football club  for the player and his agents.

Chelsea can continue talks, given Dembele’s contract expires at the end of June, and he’s able to sign a pre-contract agreement ahead of a free transfer.

Whether they’d be ready to pay Dembele as if he were one of the very best players in the world, which he currently isn’t, is quite another thing.

The Premier League club wouldn’t want to upset their current squad and structure, and that could be one of the reasons Mundo Deportivo think it’s likelier Dembele will join PSG, who gave up any idea of squad harmony a long time ago.