Faced with the departure of Brazilian striker Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona is moving up a gear on the track that leads to Borussia Dortmund striker Ousmane Dembele.
According to report, the Catalan management traveled to Germany on Wednesday to talk with Dortmund on a potential move for the 20-year-old striker.
Barca initially had set up 90 million euros for Dembele when they asked for availability early in this summer but Dortmund have reportedly told the Catalan club they want 150 million euros for their striker.
“Whatever the interested club, 100 million euros is very little for Dembele,” said Dortmund’s executive director Hans-Joachim Watzke.
“I remember Kevin De Bruyne who left for Manchester City. It was the most expensive negotiation of German Bundeliga, but to analyze, it was not the best negotiation, because Wolfsburg lost a lot of quality,” he added.
Barca has a strong competitor on this issue. Real Madrid has already caught up with the German club to talk the situation of Dembele and is also considering taking action.
But after attempting to recruit the player last summer and keeping regular contract with their entourage, Barcelona has a strong argument.
According to report, it would benefit from the preference marked by Dembele who would see Neymar in succession in Camp Nou. A certainty, Dembele’s transfer fee should not be negotiated under 100 million euros, which could make the Frenchman one of the three most expensive players in history with Paul Pogba and Neymar.
Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring at Bundeliga last season. (Source:www.skysports.com)
Last weekend, Dembele had already agreed to join Barcelona this summer. He tells Dortmund that he could leave after removed club’s jersey on his social media account.
“Barcelona is a great club and all players would like to play at a club like that. It is a pleasure to be able to see your name on the list of players who Barcelona wants. We’ll be calm and see what happens.” Dembele said.
Having joined Borussia Dortmund on a 15 million euros from Stade Rennes in 2016, the French striker impressed all biggest club in Europe.
Dembele scored 10 goals and assisted 12 in 30 games last season for Dortmund. With his talents and potential, he is expected to replace Neymar than Liverpool’s star Philippe Coutinho.
