Barcelona issue important Dembele transfer update
Robin Bairner
- 6 Jul 2022 13:29 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has given fans an update on the transfer status of winger Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele’s contract with the club expired on June 30, leaving him a free agent following a long-running and sometimes public battle over a new deal.
It has, however, been reported that he has agreed a new two-year deal with the club.
Laporta addressed the situation of the France winger and insisted that there is no deadline by which he must sign a new contract. He also said that Manchester United transfer target Frenkie de Jong is in a similar position, with the Netherlands star reportedly owed a huge figure by Barca over the next couple of seasons.
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"There is no date for Dembele,” the president confirmed. “If he does not accept our proposal, he will not be able to stay. If he does not accept it, there is nothing we can do. We must create a salary structure that we want so that there are no imbalances that could distort everything.
“And the same thing happens with Frenkie. And with the reinforcements that arrive. We're not in a hurry, although we know that we can't delay too much so as not to hinder the arrival of other players who have understood the situation. We'll go into the transfer market with this principle.”
Dembele has reportedly been asking for a sizeable wage, which given Barcelona’s financial problems is a significant sticking point.
Why Barca can afford to give Dembele time
One reason that Barca are unlikely to rush him into a decision is because the club have already admitted that they are struggling to fit Sergi Roberto, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen into their existing framework.
If De Jong were to leave for Manchester United, meanwhile, that could potentially free up additional space, although as Laporta hinted, this could be used for other new additions. For example, Barcelona continue to be linked with transfers for Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski of Leeds and Bayern Munich.
Dembele, meanwhile, has been linked with a string of clubs this summer, including Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and PSG, although there has been little noise around where he may end up.
