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| Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona in action during La Liga match , football match played between FC Barcelona and RCD Mallorca at Camp Nou stadium on May 1, 2022, in Barcelona, Spain. |
Chelsea target Ousmane Dembele has yet to decide on his future.
France star Dembele, 25, is a free agent this summer with his contract at Barcelona due to expire and Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain are among the big clubs keen on signing him.
Barcelona have also made several offers to try and persuade him to sign a new deal but have been able to make a suitable proposal because of the huge financial restrictions at the club.
The Catalan giants are having to offload players before they can make new signings - with Robert Lewandowski and Andreas Christensen on their hit list - and are tied until they can balance the books.
That means Dembele looks set to leave with Chelsea interested and yet the Barcelona star is determined to delay any decision until he returns from holiday.
That means nothing has yet been decided, nothing has been signed or agreed with any club and that leaves the door open for Chelsea to pursue him and potentially go head-to-head with PSG.
Dembele is a huge talent, joined Barcelona in 2017 for a staggering £120m and for him now to be available as a free transfer makes him one of the most sought after deals of the summer window.
He played under Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund so that link may also give Chelsea another edge over PSG this summer.
Dembele scored 32 goals, made 34 assists in 150 appearances for Barca but fell out of favour as he struggled with fitness issues but then did impress new boss Xavi towards the end of the campaign. That led Barcelona to trying to tie him down to a new deal but they have yet to offer anything at a realistic level and it seems certain he will leave when his contract expires on June 30.
PSG also remain a potential option and a return to France but they have yet to decide on their new manager or even announce Mauricio Pochettino’s impending departure.
Zinedine Zidane is their overwhelming first choice and that would be a huge draw but the more likely option for PSG looks like being Nice boss Christophe Galtier who is now red-hot favourite to take charge.
