Ousmane Dembele Handed Barcelona Lifeline as Blaugrana Decide to Ignore Offers for Frenchman
Ousmane Dembele will remain with Barcelona for the 2019/20 campaign after club officials informed the winger he does, indeed, have a future at the Camp Nou.
There has been speculation that the Frenchman could leave Catalonia this summer following a testing couple of seasons, as the 22-year-old struggled to rediscover the blistering form he showed at Borussia Dortmund. His first year was truncated by injury problems, whilst Dembele looked short of confidence for large periods last term.
Nevertheless, it appears the player will have at least one more campaign in red and blue, with Mundo Deportivo reporting that the Blaugrana board have decided not to sell their €105m man.
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It had previously been reported that Dembele had been offered to Liverpool in an attempt to raise funds at Barça, a deal which would help finance moves for Antoine Griezmann and Matthijs de Ligt.
However, that seems to be false in light of a meeting between Dembele and representatives from the La Liga champions, in which board members confirmed the ex-Dortmund star is a part of coach Ernesto Valverde's plans.
Dembele in turn revealed his desire to stay at the club he joined from BVB in 2017, for whom he has scored 18 goals in 65 appearances in all competitions.
So, does that settle this miniature transfer saga? There were glimpses of his enormous talent last year, though the World Cup winner also frustrated with some underwhelming performances. Still, he is clearly a talented individual, who could develop into a formidable player with the right coaching.
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Barça certainly have a reason to keep him, then, and it's pretty understandable for anyone to want to be at the Camp Nou given the majesty and power of the club.
Moreover, the requisite fee to take him off of Barcelona's hands is gonna be steep. We're talking nine-figures, a sum that most rivals wouldn't consider paying for a man who is yet to prove that his fitness issues are fully behind him.
