With numerous reports claiming that both Manchester United and Newcastle United were interested in signing Ousmane Dembélé, there was a belief a deal could potentially be done in January.
After all, the Frenchman has yet to renew his current deal with Barcelona, which expires at the end of the current campaign, meaning he can either negotiate a free transfer for next season or be sold in January for a reduced fee.
That would be €20m, if Sport are to be believed, as the Catalan outlet report on Monday that the La Liga side have now ‘offered’ the player to both Manchester United and Newcastle United for that fee.
They put it as ’20 kilos’, which is the slang for €20m, and the reason for that is because Barcelona ‘want to place him in the Premier League this winter market’.
The aim is to ‘obtain liquidity’ for a player before he leaves for free in the summer, and it seems he has his ‘hours counted’ following this latest step.
He’s reportedly ‘light years’ from signing a new deal, as his demands, or at least those of his agent, are ‘unaffordable’ for any club, leading Barcelona to ‘make a move’.
They have ‘offered’ their player to ‘two Premier League clubs’, before Sport name them as Manchester United and Newcastle United, as they are the pair who have ‘been interested in signing Dembélé’, who is himself ‘seduced by the idea’ of playing in England.
Both teams could do with a player like him, as the Red Devils try to close the gap with the top four and qualify for the Champions League, while Newcastle United are still trying to wade their way out of the relegation zone under Eddie Howe.
Barcelona don’t know if Dembélé has already pre-agreed a contract with another club for next season, which would make this attempt to sell him impossible, but they are ‘not throwing the towel’ until anything is announced, such is their need to bring money in and ‘lighten’ the FFP situation.
