By the end of the 2021/22 season, Ousmane Dembele will have come to the end of his Barcelona contract.
As Sport are already noting, it appears that the player is ready to run his deal down in order to ensure that he can move for free next summer.
It’s another unpalatable scenario for the Catalan club, given that he cost them north of €100m from Borussia Dortmund and they will not be able to command a transfer fee for him.
Even if the club try to offload him in January to at least get some money back, as long as they are assured that the player has made up his mind to move on, it still requires Dembele’s agreement, which appears unlikely at this stage.
Frankly, the player has never been up to Barcelona’s standards in any event.
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He’s remembered more for his miss against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final than for anything he’s done at the right end of the pitch, which says everything about the lack of impact the supposedly world-beating player has had.
Clearly, Barcelona’s current situation would dictate that the club might be better with him in situ than without, however, the saving on salary would allow Joan Laporta and Xavi to work the transfer market and bring in players who can and will make a difference.
Trincao is only on loan at Wolves and with a little bit of work, he could be twice the player Dembele has been.
Newcastle are said to be keen on the Frenchman, per Mundo Deportivo cited by The Sun, as are Manchester United, again say Mundo Deportivo cited by The Sun.
Both will find out pretty quickly that he has pace and a vicious shot but precious little else, if they go as far as to negotiate his hire.
They seek to buy him at their own risk.