Word stemming from the Spanish media on Saturday suggests that Ousmane Dembele is on the verge of a Barcelona departure, primed to take his talents to the Premier League.
The long-running saga surrounding the future of wide-man Dembele is of course set to come to an imminent conclusion.
This comes with the Frenchman, amid a frankly underwhelming stint at the Camp Nou to date, set to see the terms of his contract expire come the end of the month.
Owing to a head-turning resurgence over the 2nd half of the campaign, it is understood that Xavi Hernandez and co. have changed their tune when it comes to Dembele’s future, now hopeful of the Frenchman staying put.
The intentions of the 25-year-old himself, though, have long remained unclear, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester United all waiting in the wings in the case of Dembele opting for a new challenge.
VALENCIA, SPAIN – APRIL 10: Pierre Emerick Aubameyang celebrates with Dani Alves & Ousmane Dembele during the La Liga Santander match between Levante v FC Barcelona at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia on April 10, 2022 in Valencia Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Blues bound?
And now, as alluded to above, word is beginning to spread that one of the aforementioned quartet of clubs have not only taken the lead in the race for Dembele’s signature, but are in fact closing on an agreement with the former Borussia Dortmund man.
The outfit in question? Chelsea.
As per a report from Mundo Deportivo, citing sources in England, the Blues, owing to Roman Abramovich’s protracted sale of the club finally coming to fruition, are ready to begin efforts towards reinforcing Thomas Tuchel’s squad.
And first on the agenda is understood to be Dembele, who is ‘close’ to committing to the terms of a contract at Stamford Bridge.
Any such move to west London would of course give rise to a reunion between the gifted attacker and Chelsea boss Tuchel, after the latter oversaw arguably the finest form of Dembele’s career during their shared time in Germany with Dortmund.
💰 Ousmane Dembélé estaría cerca de llegar a un acuerdo con el Chelsea
✍️ @JoanPoquiEraso https://t.co/KwRdSYBJ54
— Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) May 28, 2022
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