Arsenal have reportedly seen their bid for Ousmane Dembele being turned down by Borussia Dortmund.
Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo have reported that Ousmane Dembele has recently been the subject of a bid from Arsenal. However, Borussia Dortmund have swiftly rejected the approach from the Gunners for the Frenchman, who is also attracting interest from Barcelona.
Dembele joined Dortmund from Rennes last summer, with the Bundesliga club staving off competition from some of the biggest clubs in the world to secure his services. And the player has taken no time to establish himself as an integral figure at the Signal Iduna Park.
This past season, the 20-year-old emerged as one of the most exciting young prospects in the world as he bagged 10 goals and 21 assists in 49 appearances for Dortmund. His exploits have not gone unnoticed either, with a host of prominent clubs in Europe tailing Dembele for a move this summer.
The latest entrants in the race to sign the youngster are Arsenal, who lodged a formal bid to secure his services. The North London club are in a precarious situation with the future of Alexis Sanchez up in the air, even though Arsene Wenger has claimed that the Chilean is going nowhere this summer.
Mundo Deportivo ??| Arsenal have had an undisclosed bid for Borrusia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele rejected. | #afc #bvb pic.twitter.com/oWWcuNUx04
— Football Watch (@FootbaII_Watch) August 3, 2017
With Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain being linked with a summer exit from the Emirates as well, the Arsenal boss has been scouring the market for a top attacking player. The Gunners were heavily linked with a move for Thomas Lemar. But AS Monaco have shut the door on a move.
Wenger has, thus, set his sights on Dembele, whose pace in addition to his playmaking abilities could complement Mesut Ozil well. However, Arsenal have seen their bid being rejected by Dortmund, who are firm on their intention to keep a hold of the player.
Nevertheless, he continues to attract interest from Barcelona, who are in desperate need to sign an attacking player following the shock departure of Neymar this week, which leaves Ernesto Valverde seriously short of quality options upfront, with doubts over the consistency of the likes of Arda Turan, Gerard Deulofeu and Paco Alcacer.
The Blaugrana have, thus, renewed their interest in Dembele, having been rejected by the player last summer before he chose Dortmund. It now remains to be seen if Barcelona can succeed where Arsenal failed, although the player has already gone on record to state that he is not looking to leave Dortmund after just one season.
