Barcelona are reportedly on the verge of completing the signing of Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele in a deal worth around €130m.
The Catalan giants have faced a tumultuous summer in the transfer market, particularly after losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record transfer fee.
Their efforts to sign Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho look to have hit a final immoveable obstacle, and so in turn Mundo Deportivo report that the focus is all on signing Dembele.
In fact, the report claims that the 20-year-old is increasingly close to becoming a Barcelona player, as the two clubs have edged towards reaching an agreement over a transfer fee.
Dembele is expected to cost Barcelona €130m in total, made up of an initial €100m payment with the additional €30m in performance-related bonuses.
Should Barca go on to complete the deal, it will be a welcome relief for supporters who have been anxiously waiting to see who the club will bring in this summer to strengthen the squad and give new boss Ernesto Valverde the best possible chance of competing for major honours in his first campaign in charge.
With Luis Suarez currently sidelined with an injury, Barca were still able to kick-start their La Liga season with a win at the weekend, but it’s clear that the focus is also on bringing in reinforcements before the transfer deadline to add to the key signings of Paulinho and Nelson Semedo this summer.
As per The Sun, via Get French Football, they are now just ‘hours away’ from signing Dembele, a move that will work for all parties concerned as well as Liverpool who are now seemingly going to hold on to Coutinho.