Ousmane Dembele is reportedly not convinced by the contract offer from Chelsea, even though it surpasses the proposal by Barcelona.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Ousmane Dembele’s prospects heading into the 2022/23 season do not look bright, with Chelsea’s contract offer not convincing him much. The French forward could thus stay put at Barcelona beyond the summer transfer window by signing a deal worth less than the Blues’ proposal.
The soap opera surrounding Ousmane Dembele has dragged on for the better part of 2022 thus far. The 25-year-old seemed to have played his last game for Barcelona in January when Mateu Alemany announced that the two parties had reached a point of no return in contract renewal talks.
But Dembele was a pivotal figure for Barcelona in the second half of the 2021/22 season and won over the Barcelona fans with some top-notch performances. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner ended the campaign with more assists than anyone else in La Liga (13) despite playing only 21 games.
However, despite turning his fortunes around at Camp Nou, Barcelona’s modest renewal offer has prompted Dembele to consider joining a new club in a Bosman move in the summer transfer window. And for a long time, his likely destination has seemed to be Chelsea.
Chelsea will sell at least one of Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner, with Romelu Lukaku’s return to Inter Milan a formality. So the Blues will need to sign multiple attackers in the summer transfer window to give Thomas Tuchel a fighting chance of challenging on all fronts.
So while Raheem Sterling is Chelsea’s priority target, signing Dembele could be a step in the right direction. But recent reports have claimed that the Barcelona forward’s fitness issues are compelling Chelsea to look the other way instead of launching the offensive for a Bosman move. And the Blues’ offer for Dembele is not convincing enough anyway, as per SPORT.
Also Read: Three potential Ousmane Dembele replacements for Barcelona
The report claims that Dembele was expecting a better deal from Chelsea, and even though the proposal surpasses Barcelona’s offer, he might end up remaining at Camp Nou. So it looks like the French international might have to bite the bullet and accept the contract put on the table by Barcelona.
