"We have to solve this issue as soon as possible" - Sporting director Mateu Alemany says Barcelona star still has a contract extension offer on the table
Ousmane Dembele's contract situation at Barcelona has become a hot topic of discussion lately. The Frenchman is seeing out his contract with the La Liga giants that runs until June this year.
Talks about a possible extension had reached an impasse after he refused to accept the wage demands that Blaugrana were asking of him.
However, lately, there have been reports of a fresh breakthrough in negotiations, despite interest from several top clubs.
Mateu Alemany told @vamos: “Dembélé's renewal situation hasn’t changed much - he has an offer from us on the table and he knows that we have to solve this issue as soon as possible” #Transfers 🇫🇷
Now, Barcelona's sporting director Mateu Alemany has once again reminded the player that an offer of extension with the club is still on the table.
Speaking to Spanish outlet Vamos de Movistar, he said:
"Dembélé's renewal situation hasn’t changed much - he has an offer from us on the table and he knows that we have to solve this issue as soon as possible."
With less than six months remaining on his current deal, Dembele is officially allowed to agree pre-contract terms with other clubs.
AS Monaco have already seen their bid rejected with the star not considering a move back to his home country of France.
Some English, Spanish and Italian sides have sounded their interest, while Barcelona manager Xavi is keen to retain the star. He wants Dembele to remain a part of the ongoing rebuilding project at the club.
Xavi even played him for the entirety of their 3-2 Spanish Super Cup loss to Real Madrid on Thursday. However, more reports have emerged lately of Dembele's imminent departure from Camp Nou.
Dembele's ill-fated term at Barcelona seems numbered
Much was expected from Dembele when he was signed for a mammoth €105 million from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
However, the Frenchman has ended up being another expensive flop at the club, missing nearly half of their games through injury.
Even while on the field, his best performances have come in bits and parts, as fans are frustrated with him and no longer want him at the club.
Dembélé’s decision making on the ball is poor and he constantly makes mistakes, he hasn’t worked on his flaws over the last five years and his end product has progressively gotten worse too.
Dembele has no shortage of suitors though, with Manchester United, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain all monitoring his situation.
Bayern Munich were also in the reckoning but after Kingsley Coman's recent contract extension, their interest is likely to fizzle out.
Dembele will turn only 25 this May, so he has time to resurrect his once promising career, but it's unlikely to happen at Barcelona.