Barcelona weighing up U-turn on Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona are considering a change of tack in the transfer market.

Their struggles to negotiate Leeds United down in a deal for Raphinha are making sign of a deal difficult. According to Mundo Deportivo, Leeds are not willing to allow the Brazilian out the door for less than €55m. It’s a figure Barcelona are not prepared to meet.

Meanwhile the player he is supposed to replace, Ousmane Dembele, still hasn’t signed a deal with anyone else. Supposedly close to Chelsea, Sport picked up on a report from The Sun in which Dembele is waiting for a guarantee that he will be a starter in London.

Yesterday Ousmane Dembele was questioned on those rumours and remarked that he was happy at Barcelona. For a long time, Barcelona have not been happy with him and his agent over their negotiations stance.

However the difficulties in the Raphinha deal could cause a rethink at Camp Nou. It may lead to fresh negotiations for Dembele, who would no doubt be a cheaper move overall than Raphinha.

That twist would be welcomed by manager Xavi Hernandez, who has been Dembele’s biggest supporter at the club. The sticking point may well be the salary structure: the Blaugrana are keen to impose a rigid set of limits on salaries for their squad and it may be that Dembele requires a contract beyond the upper reaches.

Tags Barcelona Chelsea Leeds United Ousmane Dembele Raphinha
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