Speculation in the Spanish media today suggests that Barcelona could move Ousmane Dembele on for a cut-price fee this summer.
Barca struggles
French wide-man Dembele made the move to the Camp Nou in the summer of 2017.
The Blaugrana splashed out a hefty €105 million (plus a potential 40 million in bonuses) to secure Dembele’s signature from Borussia Dortmund, in the wake of Neymar’s record-breaking move to PSG.
However, the attacker has since struggled to replace the output of his predecessor, with a combination of injury problems, competition for places and questions over his attitude having seen Dembele, to this point, fail to repay Barca’s faith.
In the former Rennes man’s defence, the aforementioned fitness issues endured by Dembele during his time in Catalunya have been nothing short of staggering.
After the Frenchman picked up the latest in a series of hamstring injuries in February, Barcelona confirmed that their struggling winger had been ruled out for 6 months.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – JANUARY 20: Ousmane Dembele of Barcelona (11) celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal with Luis Suarez (9) and team mates during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and CD Leganes at Camp Nou on January 20, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
This, as subsequently calculated by the reliable Transfermarkt, means that, upon his return to the pitch, Dembele looks set to have missed somewhere in the region of 80 fixtures since completing his move to Barcelona 3 years ago.
Dembele on the move?
The 22-year-old’s widely-publicised struggles during his time in Spain, meanwhile, have inevitably resulted in speculation that the Blaugrana could simply attempt to cut their losses, by moving Dembele on to the highest bidder.
In the past, the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and PSG have all been tipped as potential landing spots for the explosive winger.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was also recently named as a keen admirer of Dembele’s talents.
And, as outlined above, if the latest speculation stemming from Spain today is to be believed, then any interested party could yet strike a bargain deal for the Frenchman this summer.
As per a report from Marca, Barca would be willing to part with Dembele over the coming months for a fee of just €60 million.
This comes with those in charge at the Camp Nou still hopeful of a dream (albeit extremely unlikely) double swoop for Neymar and Lautaro Martinez.
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 27: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona celebrates with his team mate Neymar Jr. after scoring his team’s first goal during the Copa Del Rey Final between FC Barcelona and Deportivo Alaves at Vicente Calderon stadium on May 27, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
As such, Dembele could well be one of those sacrificed, in a bid to bring in some much-needed funds.
Interestingly, the fresh rumours surrounding Dembele’s future come on the same day that the gifted attacker returned to Barcelona’s training base for the first time in several months.
In a statement on the club’s official website and social media platforms, the Spanish champions confirmed that:
‘Ousmane Dembélé returned on Wednesday to the Ciutat Esportiva after passing a medical to continue his recovery from the hamstring injury he suffered in training back in February at the Ciutat Esportiva.’
📍 Ciutat Esportiva
👋 @Dembouz— FC Barcelona (from 🏠) (@FCBarcelona) May 13, 2020
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