Ousmane Dembélé has a contract expiring at the end of the current season and until he signs a new deal at Barcelona, reports will continue to link him to other clubs.
Newcastle United have been repeatedly linked since they were acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in October.
Moussa Sissoko, the winger’s agent, holding talks with other clubs has annoyed the La Liga side.
On Wednesday, ABC reported the 24-year-old ‘has an offer on the table from Newcastle’. It was also said the Magpies proposal includes an annual salary of €15m and an additional signing-on bonus of €15m, for him to arrive at the club as a free agent next summer.
That offer has been mentioned by multiple sources in recent weeks.
New Barca manager Xavi Hernández has already made it public he wants the Frenchman to renew his contract.
Journalist Xavier Bosch, writing for the last page of today’s Mundo Deportivo, uses Xavi’s comments to state that ‘finally, Dembélé has heard the first praise in capital letters’.
He further points out the former Borussia Dortmund player knows he now has the upper-hand [due to Xavi’s arrival], months after the club tried to devalue him in an exchange operation in the summer, and threatened to send him to the stands if he didn’t renew.
Dembélé hasn’t renewed his contract yet and Bosch points out that in 50 days, he can ‘sign for whoever he wants’. From January 1st, he can sign a pre-contract with another club to join them on a free transfer next summer.
With Newcastle’s offer already on the table, Dembélé needs to decide whether to sign for the Magpies, renew his contract with Barcelona or look for another club.
