Chelsea to pip Newcastle: Ranking the contenders to sign Ousmane Dembele

Martin Macdonald

• 18 Feb 2022 19:22 GMT
• 4 min read

One of the biggest transfer sagas over the last six months has surrounded Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele.

The Frenchman remains one of the most expensive players in the club's history following his €105 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017.

However, his time at Camp Nou has been underwhelming, with constant injury problems impacting his ability to become a key first time player.

Despite these injury concerns, Dembele and his representatives have been locked in talks with Barcelona over a lucrative new contract.

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Negotiations have been ongoing since the end of last season, but have now completely broken down, which means Dembele is now likely to leave as a free agent in June.

He was told to leave in the January transfer window but a move didn't materalise.

Below are the top contenders to sign Dembele this summer.

5. Arsenal

With Mikel Arteta promoting youth and homegrown talent at Arsenal, Dembele probably wouldn't fit in, and while he could add real star quality to the team, it would be a risky move.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's high wages has hampered Arsenal massively, and Dembele would've done the same. Furthermore, the club weren't interested in a swap deal with Dembele and Aubameyang.

A summer move isn't out of the question, but will Dembele want a club that plays in the Champions League?

4. Manchester United

Links with Dembele to Man Utd always seemed foolish. The Old Trafford outfit splashed the cash on Jadon Sancho last summer, and he hasn't been a guaranteed starter at the club.

Add another winger into the mix, and it'll be like accepting defeat with Sancho. Dembele's strengths come in progressing the ball up the pitch, but he lacks defensive work rate, which is something Ralf Rangnick demands.

Now, he worked under Tuchel, so it's not a huge issue, but it's certainly a clash of styles.

What makes this a more likely than previously is the situation surrounding Mason Greenwood.

3. Newcastle

This would have seemed out of the question a year ago, but Newcastle are now in a position that they can match the wage demands of any player on earth.

The Saudi-backed takeover will likely see the Magpies become a major player in the transfer market in the coming years.

Though they are yet to attract world-class players yet, the first one will come at one point.

So, this could be Newcastle's Robinho-to-Man City moment.

2. PSG

One of the other major free agent departures that will likely materalise this summer surrounds PSG forward Kylian Mbappe.

Like Dembele, Mbappe's contract runs out this summer and the pair's futures may be intrinsically linked.

If Mbappe does leave PSG, the club will be under pressure to replace him with another big-name star.

The likes of Mohamed Salah seem out of the questions, so they might look to bring Dembele back to France.

1. Chelsea

Perhaps the biggest rumour in January was linking Dembele to Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel coached Dembele at Dortmund, and even once named him the most talented player he's ever worked with.

So, links were inevitable, especially given the woes of Chelsea's attackers. But, the plethora of options to Tuchel meant a move for Dembele was always going to be unlikely. Although the forwards at Stamford Bridge haven't been as successful signings as Tuchel and the Chelsea board would've hoped, a move for Dembele never seemed like it would happen.

The wage bill at Chelsea is already inflated and adding Dembele's large wages into the equation wouldn't have worked. Furthermore, a move was far more likely to occur in the summer anyway, when Chelsea may offload one or two forwards.