Talks between Barcelona and Ousmane Dembele over a new deal have ‘slowed down’ with ‘concern held at the Nou Camp that the forward already has a pre-contract agreement with another team’
- The brakes have been put on for Ousmane Dembele’s extension with Barcelona
- Barcelona are keen to hand Dembele a new deal and would prefer to keep him
- Mundo Deportivo claimed that the forward and his camp are currently stalling
- There is concern at the club that Dembele may have a pre-contract agreement
Talks between Barcelona and Ousmane Dembele over an extension have slowed down amid fears at the club that the forward may have his sights set on a pre-contract agreement in January, according to reports.
With Dembele tied down until 2022, Barcelona are keen to hand him a new deal – but as of yet, discussions have failed to reach an agreement and his future remains firmly up in the air.
Mundo Deportivo claim that, despite the keen interest from the club to keep Dembele, there is a ‘difficult’ stand-off over the fresh terms.
Contract talks between Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona have reportedly now slowed down
The 24-year-old was initially allowed to leave last summer with Ronald Koeman not convinced by him, but Dembele has bounced back to enjoy a fine season and finally shake off a series of dogged injuries.
As a result, Barcelona are adamant that they would prefer to keep him, but currently run the risk of allowing him to slip into the final 12 months of his current deal with little progress made on an extension.
The same report also adds that the club’s position has been made clear to Dembele’s representatives, but the France international is said to still be stalling over putting pen to paper.
Dembele’s deal runs until 2022 and his club are keen to agree to an extension this summer
It has been suggested Dembele’s camp are planning to wait for the end of Euro 2020 first, because the tournament may allow the winger to catch the eye and drive up interest in him.
Any potential bidding war could even force Barcelona to up their terms.
However, there is also fear among figures at the Nou Camp that Dembele may have already agreed to sign a pre-contract with another club.
His contract would enter its final six months on January 1, and from that date Dembele would be officially free to negotiate with any team he wants.
There are fears at Barcelona that Dembele may have his sights on a pre-contract agreement
Despite this, Barcelona’s position is largely unchanged and they want Dembele to stay. They would, though, take a look at any tabled offers if the former Borussia Dortmund man decided he wants to leave.
Manchester United and Juventus have both expressed interest in Dembele in the past, and Barcelona would prefer to bank a transfer fee now, rather than miss out on a figure at all if he walks away for free.
Dembele had openly remained coy about his future when questioned on it by the press recently.
Dembele is adamant there is ‘no rush’ over a new deal and is focused on Euro 2020 with France
‘I don’t know, we will see,’ Dembele told L’Equipe.
‘We will meet with Barca. I still have time, there’s no rush [for me] or for them, we will see what happens.
‘Firstly, I am completely focused on the European Championships with France and then I will go on holiday. It has been a long season.’
