The French attacker might be on his way to Premier League heavyweights Chelsea this summer, in what could be the final chapter of the Ousmane Dembele contract issue.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Indeed, according to French site Le10 Sport (h/t SPORT), Dembele has opted to accept Chelsea’s contract offer and will reconnect with his former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge next season.
Dembele’s five-year stay at Barça has been filled with highs and lows. The 25-year-old joined at Camp Nou as a replacement for Neymar, who departed for PSG in a world-record €222 million move in 2017.
Injury, physical issues, and a perceived lack of discipline and professionalism have prevented the Frenchman from reaching his full potential at Camp Nou.
After entering the final year of his contract with the club last summer, Dembele’s camp has been in talks with Barça about a new contract for the better part of ten months, without truly indicating that they want to accept the Catalans’ offer.
Indeed, the 25-year-entourage old’s had turned down Barça’s offer at the end of 2021, prompting the club to try to move him in January, only for the player to refuse and stay put.
After a temporary banishment, manager Xavi Hernandez welcomed Dembele back into the fold, extracting the most from the 2018 FIFA World Cup champion as the winger helped Barcelona climb the La Liga rankings.
Barcelona were forced to resume discussions with Dembele’s camp over a contract extension in March due to his performances and Xavi’s desire on retaining him at the club. However, after repeated discussions, the two parties never appeared to be close to reaching an agreement.
Dembele appears to have reached an agreement with Chelsea and is expected to join the Blues in the summer. PSG had also expressed interest in the winger, but once Luis Campos took over as director, they opted to abandon the chase.
Dembele had previously flourished while playing for Dortmund under Tuchel, which may have influenced his choice to join Chelsea. The forward’s representatives have yet to respond to Barcelona’s last contract offer, therefore he will become a free agent when his contract expires on June 30.
