Dembele set to end Liverpool and Man Utd speculation with new Barca deal
Martin Macdonald
- 17 Nov 2021 11:24 GMT
- 5 min read
Liverpool and Manchester United have received a blow in their pursuit of winger Ousmane Dembele as it is increasingly likely that the Frenchman will sign a new contract at Barcelona.
Dembele's contract at Camp Nou runs out in the summer of 2022 and the club are naturally keen to renew the deal of a player who cost them €105 million in 2017.
Mundo Deportivo reports that, while avoiding losing Dembele for free is a major reason for the push to try and get the player to sign a new deal, Barcelona feel that the winger can still be an integral part of the squad and value his potential contributions on the pitch.
Injuries have ravaged his career at Barca, but new head coach Xavi in particular wants Dembele to stay and rates him highly.
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After replacing Ronald Koeman, Xavi spoke about Dembele, saying:
"For me, Dembele, he can be the best player in the world in his position.
“But you have to work with him and demand it. It depends on him, on his mentality, that he is free from injury, that he has high performance levels.
“His renewal is a priority for me.”
Even though Xavi is clearly a massive fan of Dembele's talents, that didn't stop the Frenchman suffering the wrath of his new head coach as he became the first player fined under the new regime after turning up to training three minutes later.
Will Dembele sign a new deal?
According to Mundo Deportivo, the major stumbling block with regards to any potential renewal comes from Dembele's agent, Moussa Sissoko.
Barcelona believe that Sissoko is urging Dembele not to sign a new deal so that the agent can benefit financially from his client moving to another club.
If Dembele signs for someone else, both he and Sissoko will likely receive significant signing-on fees from the new club.
Sissoko has allegedly been in touch with Liverpool, Manchester United and Juventus with regards to his client.
Liverpool have been an interested party for a while now and their interest only increased when it emerged that Dembele could become available as a free agent.
Jurgen Klopp wants a new right winger to provide competition for Mohamed Salah, with the club being linked with a variety of players in that position over the last six months.
The links to Manchester United were stronger a year ago before they managed to secure the signing of Jadon Sancho.
However, the Red Devils would still be interested in Dembele as he would not cost a transfer fee.
