La Liga champions Barcelona are keen on holding onto French attacker Ousmane Dembele, amid strong interest from PSG.
As per reports from ESPN, Barcelona have no interest in offloading World Cup winner Ousmane Dembele, who has emerged as a transfer target for European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
The Frenchman was also a top transfer target for Premier League giants Arsenal. The Gunners reportedly made a last-gasp €100 million offer for his services on the English transfer deadline day, but their overtures were rebuffed by the Catalans.
However, the 21-year old continues to be linked with a move away from Camp Nou, with PSG understood to be keen on securing his services before the end of the month.
Dembele joined Barcelona last summer from Borussia Dortmund, for a then club record fee of €105 million following the departure of Neymar to PSG in a world record deal. However, a serious injury just three games into his career with the Blaugrana left him sidelined for a period of four months.
With Barcelona signing Philippe Coutinho in January from Liverpool, Dembele found chances in the first-team at a premium as manager Ernesto Valverde left the forward out of the starting line-ups for a number of high-profile, important encounters towards the end of the season. He finished the season with 23 appearances in all competitions, scoring four and setting up eight more.
This led to major doubts surrounding his long-term future with the Catalans. The summer acquisition of Brazilian attacker Malcom from French Ligue 1 outfit Bordeaux only added further fuel to the fire, considering that both the players are of a similar profile and play in similar positions. However, Barcelona are understood to be intent on holding on to the 21-year old beyond the summer.
Speaking of the French international in a press conference last month, manager Valverde said: “Let’s hope this will be his season. He’s an extraordinary player. The past year has been complicated because of the injuries, but, even so, he has brought us a lot.”
Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu also has insisted that the speedy attacker will not be sold.
Dembele still has four years left on his contract with the Spanish champions. With the English transfer window closing already, Arsenal will not be able to secure the signing of the 21-year old this summer. And while PSG remain interested, Barcelona’s stance on the player means that an exit from Camp Nou is extremely unlikely.
Following a successful World Cup campaign with France, Dembele returned to training with Barcelona last weekend and will be hoping to get in shape before the Blaugrana take on Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday night.
