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Barcelona is reportedly willing to take drastic action over Ousmane Dembele if the Frenchman does not sign a new contract at the Camp Nou this summer.
Dembele’s current deal expires in 2022 and Barca want to renew but will look to sell if he does not agree terms. If a buyer can’t be found this summer then the Catalan giants are also willing to keep Dembele in the stands next season, according to Goal’s Ruben Uria.
Barca has grown frustrated with Dembele’s agents and is “running out of patience” with the forward. The club has made it clear that if the 24-year-old wants to stay he must accept a “significant decrease in his fixed salary.”
Dembele is currently with the France squad for the European Championship, and Barca will allow him until the end of the tournament to renew his contract. The club has yet to receive any acceptable offers for Dembele but will put him up for sale if he does not renew.
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Barcelona Worried About Dembele?
Barcelona is also concerned by Dembele’s reluctance to discuss a new deal and the continued delays in negotiations, according to Roger Torello at Mundo Deportivo. The Catalans suspect it’s a strategy and believe he may have a deal in place to join another club on a free transfer in 2022-23.
Dembele has spoken briefly about his future since the end of the season with Barcelona but claimed in an interview with L’Equipe that neither party was in a hurry to complete a deal.
“I don’t know, we’ll see. We will meet with the management,” he said. “I’m not in a hurry and neither are they, we’ll see what happens. I’m totally focused on the Euros, then I’ll go on holiday. It’s been a long season.”
Dembele in the Shop Window
Dembele will be in the shop window over the summer after being called into the France squad for the European Championship. The Barcelona star is part of a very strong squad including teammates Antoine Griezmann and Clement Lenglet and stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba, and N’Golo Kante
France’s #Euro2020 squad depth is frightening 😳
The Barcelona forward is not guaranteed a place in the starting XI but did score after coming off the bench in a warm-up friendly against Wales on June 2. Manager Didier Deschamps has a wealth of attacking options but Dembele will still be hoping to make an impact on the tournament.
If Dembele does manage to shine for Les Bleus then it could tempt clubs into making an offer for the forward this summer. The Frenchman’s time at Barcelona has been overshadowed by injury but he did manage to shrug off his injury problems in 2020-21 and make 44 appearances in all competitions.
Barca may not want to lose the talented forward but may have little option to look for a sale if he does not put pen to paper on a new contract. The cash-strapped Catalan giants certainly can’t afford to run the risk of seeing Dembele walk away for free when his contract expires in 2022.
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