In a surprise turn of events, Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele has reportedly decided to accept the club’s contract offer and stay at Camp Nou.
According to AS journalist Javi Miguel, Ousmane Dembele has made a major U-turn on his future and decided to sign a new contract with Barcelona after months of speculations.
Dembele is in the final week of his contract with Barcelona. Talks over a new deal had come to a halt completely midway through the season after he had rejected an offer that the club had made in December. However, the French international showcased brilliant form in the second half of the campaign, with manager Xavi Hernandez getting the best out of him.
The 25-year-old ended the campaign with a tally of one goal and thirteen assists from 21 La Liga appearances, displaying great form to help Barcelona finish second in La Liga. Owing to his improved form and the faith shown by the manager, the Catalans restarted negotiations with Dembele’s camp over a potential extension.
Although multiple meetings were held, Barcelona were still short of Dembele’s wage demands leading to talks tailing off yet again. And, it looked like the winger would leave on a Bosman deal when his contract ran out. Chelsea were said to be keen on signing the Frenchman and were believed to have been in advanced talks to sign him.
Xavi is still trying to get Barcelona to convince Ousmane Dembele to sign a new contract ⏱ pic.twitter.com/rSMbFWOjtK
— GOAL (@goal) June 22, 2022
However, according to recent reports, Chelsea have decided to cool down their interest in the Barcelona winger. PSG, who were another club interested in signing Dembele, have also backed off from their pursuit of the French international, which has left him short of options heading into the summer.
Amidst these developments, Javi Miguel is claiming that Dembele has made a surprise U-turn and decided to accept the contract offer Barcelona had tabled for him in the past and continue at Camp Nou.
Another journalist, Achraf Ben Ayad, has also reported on the situation stating that Dembele’s decision to continue comes because of the faith shown in him by Barcelona manager Xavi. And despite the breakdown in contract negotiations, the Frenchman remains happy at Camp Nou and wishes to continue at the club.
According to Spanish journalist Santi Ovalle, Dembele has also spoken to Xavi to inform him that he wishes to stay at Barcelona. The manager and the coaching staff told him that the only way he could continue was by accepting the terms that the club had offered him.
However, given the nature of contradicting reports that have emerged on Dembele’s future in recent times, it remains to be seen if the 25-year-old does end up letting go of his demands to pen a new deal at Camp Nou.
