Ousmane Dembele was one of Chelsea’s top target during the winter transfer window in January but the deal did not happen despite Thomas Tuchel being very keen on the move.
But now the 24-year-old wants to stay and Xavi
wants him to continue as well. Dembele’s ongoing contract expires in June and
despite the mutual agreement mentioned above, the parties are yet to settle on
a middle ground.
All this because the player is not happy with
what the team is offering. As reported by El Chiringuito TV’s Jose Alvarez
Haya, the team from Catalonia will not offer anything more than €8 million in
salary for Dembele.
The problems certainly do not end there. Despite falling way off
of Dembele’s asking figure, the team wants him to sign a four year contract
while the player is only looking for a two year deal.
As of today despite numerous reports, the 24year old has not
made any commitment to a foreign club. At the same time however, it’s also true
that his representatives have maintained strong contacts with leaders like
Paris Saint-Germain.
After whatever happened in January, Dembele took his time to
reflect on what could pan out during the last few months, but Xavi’s continued
confidence and a consistent run in the first team has more or
less convinced him to continue at Camp Nou.
All those personal preferences will only be fulfilled if
Barcelona can convince him with their offer. If they do, he will waste no time
in putting pen to paper since Barca are and have always been his number one
priority.
If not, one can rightly expect him to leave on a free transfer
by the end of the season. What he does need to understand is that Barcelona are
currently operating under a limit and in case he wants to pocket more than the
above mentioned €8 million, a lot of it would be incentive based.
He also needs to take into account that everything, including
Barcelona’s summer business hinges on what he decides and the sooner he does,
the better it would be for Barcelona.
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