Lionel Messi reportedly wants Barcelona to sign Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Spanish publication Diario Gol have reported that Barcelona have been urged by Lionel Messi to plot a swoop for Borussia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele in the summer transfer window.
Dembele rapidly progressed through the ranks at Rennes before making the grade in the senior setup last season. After a campaign full of impressive performances, the French youngster moved to Borussia Dortmund last summer and he hasn’t looked back since.
Still only 20, Dembele has firmly established himself in the first-team setup at the Signal Iduna Park and has turned into the creative force for Dortmund this season. The player has made 47 appearances across all competitions in the current campaign, providing an incredible 20 assists while himself scoring 9 goals.
In addition to that, Dembele is also a full-fledged member of the France national squad, and it is not hard to see why he is widely regarded as one of the most promising young talents in Europe presently.
Unsurprisingly, his superlative performances have now caught the eye of some of the biggest clubs in Europe. In fact, the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid have all been linked with the youngster.
But, if one player had his wish, Barcelona could soon usurp the aforementioned trio to take the lead in the race to sign Dembele. That is because Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to make a move for the 20-year-old in the summer to ease the burden on Luis Suarez, Neymar and himself.
Paco Alcacer was signed by the Blaugranas last summer for the same purpose but the Spaniard has failed to match the heights of his time with Valencia. As a result, Messi has urged the club to recruit an upgrade in the form of Dembele.
Indeed, Barcelona are long-time admirers of Dembele’s talents and they even tried signing him last summer before he chose Dortmund to play more regular football. However, despite being snubbed last time around, the Catalan club have continued to monitor his progress over the course of the campaign.
With reports that Messi could move to a deeper role in the centre of the park next season, a place on the right side of attack will be up for grabs. Thus, Dembele is likely to become a regular fixture up front for Barcelona, and it is believed that he is ready to make the leap towards Camp Nou after the kind of season he has enjoyed at Dortmund.
The one stumbling block for Barcelona, though, is the asking price, as Dortmund are only willing to let go of the talented Frenchman for €36 million. It now remains to be seen if that stops Barcelona in their pursuit of the talented forward, or if they can succeed in his pursuit at the second time of trying.
