Earlier today, Mundo Deportivo reported that Paul Pogba has contacted Ousmane Dembélé to convince him to join Manchester United.
The newspaper also stressed the La Liga side will let the 23-year-old only move on a permanent transfer and not on a loan deal.
Cope states ‘either sale or nothing’, meaning Barca will only ‘contemplate’ selling the winger, even though the Red Devils prefer a loan with purchase option.
Ronald Koeman wants to bring in Memphis Depay, but the Catalan club must offload some of their top earners to lower their wage bill before signing the Lyon forward. Dembélé’s exit could help Barcelona in signing the Netherlands international
Since then, Sport, AS and L’Equipe have come out with their own reports on Dembélé in a short period of time.
According to Sport, the Frenchman’s potential exit is the ‘only major movement’ expected in the final days of the transfer window.
The Blaugrana are determined to try and offload Dembélé, but the only formula they will accept is sale or a loan deal with a mandatory purchase option.
His exit is also key for Barcelona for Depay. AS further adds ‘all parties could end up collaborating so that an agreement that interests everyone could be concluded’.
‘Ousmane Dembélé (Barça) to Manchester United, it’s taking shape,’ reads a headline in L’Equipe.
It’s claimed that Dembélé took information about United and life in Manchester from Pogba, and during the conversation with his compatriot, he would have ‘expressed his enthusiasm’ about the idea of playing for the English side.
L’Equipe cites a Spanish source and explains an agreement between the attacker and United ‘would not be so distant’.
The contacts between the two clubs are said to be increasing, but with regards to the type of transfer, the French outlet have a different stance than the Spanish reports.
They state Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side would look to launch an offer of €50m to attract the player, but this figure ‘probably’ won’t convince the Spanish giants. United would have to increase their offer.
United, however, will have a ‘card to play’ and that’s Dembélé’s stance on the whole saga. He doesn’t ruled out the possibility of leaving, for the first time since he arrived at the club three years ago.
The attacker was an unused substitute in his side’s latest win over Celta Vigo and Koeman stressed other alternatives like Pedri and Francisco Trincão can “contribute more defensively than Dembele can”.
Despite all of that, Barcelona’s technical secretary Ramon Planes has today said: “There is no conversation with Manchester United. We have Dembélé. We hope that this year he can give his best. Koeman already said that we hope we can enjoy him.”
Whether that’s just a negotiating stance remains to be seen.
