Until the arrival of Xavi, it appeared that Ousmane Dembele was never going to live up to his price tag at Barcelona.
Sky Sports reported that Barca paid as much as £135m to sign him from Borussia Dortmund, while his contract is running out at the end of this season so there’s still a chance that he could leave for nothing.
His biggest issues at Barca have been injuries and often being the fourth-choice forward in a system that only uses three, but the arrival of Xavi does appear to have unlocked something in the Frenchman and he clearly has a long-term role under the Barca legend if he stays.
The problem comes in agreeing a new contract, and a report from Mundo Deportivo has indicated that there’s mixed news on this.
It appears that the player and his representatives are open to signing a new contract, but Barca have formally withdrawn their recent extension offer, and that means they don’t have anything to say yes or no to.
There’s a further complication with interest from PSG, especially if you consider that they may need to refresh their forward line if Kylian Mbappe leaves and Lionel Messi continues to underwhelm in France.
At this stage it sounds like the ball is in Barca’s court and an agreement could be reached if they are willing to make the offer, and it m