Barcelona Set Enormous Price Tag for Inconsistent Winger Ousmane Dembele This Summer

Barcelona will refuse to sell winger Ousmane Dembele for anything less than his €400m buyout clause this summer and are reported to have reminded the player's agent of that.

Having only just turned 22 years of age and still the fourth most expensive player of all time, Dembele is coming off the back of another mixed season at Camp Nou.

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A period in the first half of the campaign was characterised by reports over his poor timekeeping and apparent lack of professional focus. And while he later hit some form, the final 12 weeks or so were subsequently hampered by muscle injuries.

It, therefore, wouldn't have been unsurprising had Barça been willing to sell but a report from Mundo Deportivo (MD) claims that the Catalans see no reason to, despite some of Dembele's shortcomings, because it would be 'wrong to sell' without exercising patience.

The report acknowledges that Dembele is terribly inconsistent, sometimes world-class, occasionally very poor, and has to mature before he can be properly be judged.

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What it means is that Barça would accept nothing less than the €400m stipulated in Dembele's contract if another club - the Premier League and Bayern Munich are namedropped by MD - wish to buy the 2018 World Cup winner in the coming weeks.

What's more, the Catalans are said to have informed agent Moussa Sissoko (not to be confused with the Tottenham player of the same name) of that, presumably so that he doesn't waste time offering his client to prospective buyers when no one can afford the prohibitive fee.