WATCH: Premier League club take leaf out of Barcelona's book to confirm new contract
Premier League club Fulham have copied Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele contract extension announcement video to confirm Tyrese Francois' future at the club
La Liga giants Barcelona have had an eventful summer transfer window so far. They have made three major additions to their squad in the shape of Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Raphinha.
The Catalans have also found a breakthrough in their attempts to sign Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski. They could receive a major boost to their finances as well, with Frenkie de Jong potentially joining Manchester United.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have convinced Dembele to put pen to paper on a new contract with the club. The Frenchman saw his previous deal expire last month, but has now committed his future to the Camp Nou outfit until 2024.
The Blaugrana announced the 25-year-old's contract extension with a simple social media announcement on Thursday. In the said video, the player can be seen standing next to a whiteboard that says 'Dembele 2022'.
2̵0̵2̵2̵
2024
𝐍𝐎𝐖, 𝐘𝐄𝐒! https://t.co/Exv7olDDwc
Dembele goes on to replace '2022' with '2024', implying that he has committed his future to the club. Despite the simplicity of the video, Barcelona have managed to gather 4.5 million views for it just on their main Twitter handle.
Fulham have now followed suit by posting a similar video to announce the contract extension of one of their own players. They have pulled a leaf out of Barcelona's books to confirm that Francois has signed a new deal with the club.
Watch the video here:
https://t.co/uOsTcugjSC
Francois rose through the ranks at Fulham's academy before making his senior debut for them in 2019. He has since made seven appearances across all competitions for the Cottagers.
The 22-year-old featured twice in Fulham's Championship-winning run last season. However, he saw his contract with the London outfit run out at the end of the campaign.
Francois has now committed his future to Marco Silva's side until the end of the 2023-24 season. Having signed a contract extension, he will be hopeful of earning more playing time with the team this term.
Dembele's contract extension a huge boost for Barcelona
The Catalans signed Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for a deal worth around €150 million in 2017. The forward has since been a regular for the La Liga club, but has struggled with injuries.
Dembele was in fine form for the Blaugrana under Xavi in the second half of the 2021-22 season. He scored two goals and provided 13 assists from 31 appearances under the Spaniard last term.
Xavi has since been desperate to retain the Frenchman's services beyond this summer.