Barcelona are reportedly willing to offer beleaguered French forward Ousmane Dembele in the deal to sign Erling Haaland.
According to a report by Catalan outlet El Nacional, Barcelona are hoping to pull off a trick to sign Erling Haaland in next summer’s transfer window. The Catalan giants are ready to offer Ousmane Dembele in the deal to sign Erling Haaland, looking to bring the price of the transfer down to €40 million.
Erling Haaland is one of the hottest properties in the transfer market at the moment, having transformed into a goal machine since his breakout campaign at Red Bull Salzburg in 2019/20. And since joining Borussia Dortmund in January 2020, the Norwegian forward has not looked back, often scoring goals for fun.
The 21-year-old has been in fine form early in the 2021/22 season, with 11 goals and four assists to show for his efforts in just eight appearances. His progress over the last couple of years has invariably piqued the interest of some of the best clubs in Europe, with Barcelona among the prospective suitors for Haaland.
Barcelona are in all sorts of problem at the moment, with their financial woes crumbling the structure of the club and having their knock-on effects on the first-team setup. The departures of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann have also left the Blaugrana devoid of goals.
While Memphis Depay has been a fine addition to the Barcelona squad, there are very few goals from players beyond him unless Sergio Aguero can rediscover his best form when he makes his debut after recovering from a calf injury. Indeed, deadline day signing Luuk de Jong has hardly made an impression and has come under a lot of criticism as well.
As a result, Haaland is a viable target for Barcelona, although there is a big asterisk in their pursuit of the Borussia Dortmund striker, considering he will not come cheap. However, Barcelona think they might have a trick up their sleeves, as they are looking to offer Ousmane Dembele to bring his price down.
As per the report, Barcelona are hoping that the offer of the beleaguered French winger might be enough to bring the transfer fee down to around €40 million. Having said that, with several other clubs in his pursuit, it remains to be seen if Dortmund are ready to accept the offer from the Catalan giants.
Add to it the fact that Dembele tends to spend more time on the sidelines than on the pitch over the course of a season owing to his fitness issues, Dortmund could well be wary in accepting such an offer. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if Barcelona can somehow manage to get a deal for Haaland over the line.