Llama Ousmane Dembele’s situation continues to be a quandary for Barcelona. The 24-year-old refused to sign the contract offered to him during the winter and looked primed to leave at the end of the season on a free transfer.
However, the French winger’s performances in the second half of the campaign have led to talks of a potential renewal. The ex-Borussia Dortmund ace has been in red-hot form of late and has played a key role in Barça’s revival under Xavi Hernandez over the past couple of months.
The manager has always maintained that he wishes Dembele to continue at Camp Nou. And it has been claimed that the forward himself keeps insisting privately that he wants to stay. But a compromise on a contract between the club and the player is nowhere in sight.
Recent reports indicated that Dembele’s camp are considering approaching the club to restart negotiations. But, Barcelona could find themselves at a disadvantage in talks as Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool are also pushing to sign the French international, reports Fichajes.
PSG have been long-linked with Dembele, with it being claimed that the Frenchman even has a pre-contract agreement with the Parisian giants. Les Parisiens are set to lose Kylian Mbappe at the end of the season when his contract runs out and see the Barça contract rebel as a replacement.
As for Liverpool, they are sweating over the future of Mohamed Salah. The 29-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and has, interestingly, emerged as a transfer target for the Blaugrana.
Should he end up departing, Jurgen Klopp’s side are looking at Dembele as a potential replacement, although Liverpool are unlikely to let Salah leave that easily.
Despite all the speculations, talks between Barcelona and Dembele are yet to take place. And while there is still time for things to evolve, at the moment, he is still on an expiring contract and could leave Camp Nou at the end of the season.
