Chelsea have been “informed” about the potential availability of Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele since the January transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Writing in the next edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Romano says the Blues have an interest in Dembele, whose future at the Nou Camp continues to look in some doubt.
The France international had had a mixed spell at Barcelona, showing flashes of real quality but generally struggling to look as good as he did during his days as a youngster at Borussia Dortmund.
Chelsea could do well to snap Dembele up on a free transfer, however, as they urgently need an upgrade on struggling attacking players like Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech.
One issue for the moment, though, is that Chelsea need to finalise a takeover deal.
“Dembele is happy at Barcelona, he has an excellent relationship with Xavi but the offer is not good enough yet to receive the green light,” Romano explained.
“Chelsea and PSG have been informed about Ousmane since January. There have always been contacts with his agents but Chelsea cannot proceed in the final stages of negotiations for the owners issue at least for a few more days.”
It’s been a disappointing season for Chelsea, who surely need a good transfer window in order to bounce back.
The west London giants were billed a title favourites, but are a long way behind Liverpool and Manchester City, while they also failed to retain their Champions League crown.
Dembele is the kind of talent who could make a big impact, with so many of the club’s recent signings up front not working out.