Manchester United and Newcastle are reportedly the two clubs leading the chase for the transfer of Ousmane Dembele this January.
The France international’s Barcelona future has looked in serious doubt for some time now, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.
According to Todo Fichajes, Dembele has several offers from the Premier League, with Man Utd and Newcastle seemingly in the strongest position to snap him up, though Paris Saint-Germain’s growing interest is also mentioned.
It will be interesting to see where Dembele ends up as Barcelona look to offload the 24-year-old while they still have the chance this month, with Chelsea also thought to have been in the frame yesterday.
The Athletic were among the sources linking the Blues with the former Borussia Dortmund man, though Luke Chadwick spoke to CaughtOffside about why he couldn’t see the deal happening.
“Obviously that previous relationship [with Tuchel] always helps a lot,” Chadwick said. “I think in terms of the shape Chelsea play I’m not sure it would suit him. They don’t tend to play with out-and-out wingers, it’s more inverted wide-men.
“I’m not sure that shape would suit him, but then maybe if a player like that comes in you change your shape to fit him in. Overall I’m not sure I see Dembele at Chelsea.”
Could this be good news for Man Utd and Newcastle? It might well be that Chelsea have also decided the deal wouldn’t be right for them at this moment in time.
By contrast, United urgently need to make changes in attack after the poor start made at Old Trafford by Jadon Sancho, while Anthony Martial has just left for a loan move to Sevilla, and Jesse Lingard is heading towards being a free agent at the end of the season.
Dembele could also be a fine option for Newcastle as they look to build an exciting new squad under their wealthy Saudi owners, and in many ways it makes sense that they might be in a strong position as other bigger clubs might not want to gamble on the Frenchman after his underwhelming spell at Barca.