Barcelona have agreed terms with Borussia Dortmund to sign Ousmane Dembele in a €105 million deal, the club confirmed.
Barcelona have made an official statement to announce that they have reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchman will sign a five-year contract in a deal that would cost the Blaugrana an initial €105 million plus a potential €42 million in add-ons.
Dembele is regarded as one of the most promising young players in the world, and was an integral figure at the Signal Iduna Park during his maiden campaign with Dortmund. A mainstay in attack, the player made 49 appearances in all competitions last season, with an impressive return of 10 goals and 21 assists to show for his efforts.
Suffice to say, the France international’s stock shot through the roof, having already been highly sought-after last summer when Dortmund snapped him up from Rennes. While some of the biggest clubs in the world had been tailing him this summer, Barcelona have triumphed in the race to sign him.
? Benvingut @Dembouz!
? ¡Bienvenido Dembélé!
? Welcome Dembélé!
? Bienvenue Dembélé!
?? #BeBarça pic.twitter.com/hOeeTQey0D— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) August 25, 2017
The Blaugrana had been scrambling to find a top replacement for Neymar following his shock move to PSG earlier this month. Indeed, the Brazilian’s departure had left Ernesto Valverde with Arda Turan, Paco Alcacer and Gerard Deulofeu as his remaining options up front, none of whom inspire much confidence.
While Turan is being heavily linked with a Camp Nou exit after two seasons of mediocrity, Alcacer has struggled to establish himself in the first-team setup. Meanwhile, Deulofeu is likely seen as a squad player, despite an impressive outing against Real Betis last week.
Valverde’s woes, though, have now eased up to a great extent, with Dembele set to become a Barcelona player in the coming days. The Catalan club have reached an agreement with Dortmund for the Frenchman in a deal that will see them pay an initial €105 million fee.
Additionally, as confirmed by Dortmund, the add-ons could see the fee rise by 40% – making the deal worth a potential €147 million. The player will sign a five-year contract following a medical on Sunday with his buy-out clause set at €400 million.
On paper, Dembele is a superb addition for Barcelona, with his playmaking abilities potentially being the ideal foil to the goalscoring abilities of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. It now remains to be seen if the signing can be a success for the player and the club.
