On December 6th, we covered claims from Spain that Tottenham Hotspur have joined the race to sign Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé.
Two days later, Mundo Deportivo reported the winger’s agent is handling an offer from the north London club.
His contract expires in 2022 and the La Liga side’s efforts to secure the 24-year-old’s long-term future are yet to yield any result.
Friday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo explains there is an urgent need at the Camp Nou to tie down the France international to a new deal. Barca invested in excess of €100m to secure his services and there is still €27m is to be amortised.
If Dembélé agrees to sign a new deal, which will include a lower salary, it will not only help the Catalan club reduce the wage bill, but also give them more time to pay part of the fee invested in his signing.
The player is in favour of committing his long-term future to Barca, especially with the arrival of Xavi Hernández, but his ‘agent is elusive with the club’s negotiators’.
Dembélé’s representative is ‘taking too long to give an affirmative answer’, mainly due to the ‘interest of other clubs’. There are a ‘few posh suitors’, including Antonio Conte’s side.
With Spurs among those in contention to sign the player, Barca are running out of time to convince Dembélé sign an extension.
