Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has made it clear he wants French forward Ousmane Dembele to stay at the club and sign a new contract with the Catalan giants.
The France international is yet to agree to a new deal which means, as it stands, he would be able to leave for free next summer. There has been speculation Barca could send Dembele to the stands if he does not renew.
Koeman was asked about the forward at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday ahead of Barcelona’s La Liga clash at Rayo Vallecano and said it’s important the 24-year-old continues at the Camp Nou, as reported by ESPN.
“The most important thing is that Ousmane stays,” he said. “He’s an important player with different qualities in attack. The main objective is to renew his contract. It’s another issue if he doesn’t want to renew. We need to talk as a club about the best way to deal with that. We have still not decided what our strategy will be in the event he does not renew.”
Barcelona have already taken a tough approach with a contract rebel this year. The club was unable to reach an agreement with teenage midfielder Ilaix Moriba and sent the youngster to train with the reserves before selling him to RB Leipzig.
Follow the Heavy on Barcelona Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!
Dembele To Return Against Alaves?
Dembele is closing in on a return to action after missing the start of the season. The attacker underwent knee surgery in June after picking up an injury at Euro 2020 playing for France.
The 24-year-old has now returned to group training with the Catalan giants but has not been included in the matchday squad for Barcelona’s next game on Wednesday, October 27 against Rayo Vallecano.
Javi Miguel at Diario AS has reported that Dembele may be able to “play a few minutes against Alavés” on Saturday, October 30 and certainly in Barcelona’s next game at Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday, November 2.
Gnabry Says Dembele ‘Better than Mbappe’
Dembele’s return will be a boost for Barcelona. The forward’s talent has never been in doubt but his Barcelona career has been repeatedly disrupted by injury which has brought huge frustration.
Yet Dembele remains widely admired as recent comments by Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry show. The midfielder spoke about the Frenchman in a documentary on Amazon Prime Video, as reported by Goal.
“Dembele is much better than Mbappe,” he said to which teammate Thomas Muller then replied, “What do you mean, better? If I could dribble like Dembele, I would be better too.”
Joshua Kimmich then joined the debate and made his feelings on the issue crystal clear. He added, “If I am asked to choose between Dembele and Gnabry or Coman, I would always take Gnabry or Coman,” he said. “This Dembele discussion p*sses me off!”
Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has previously claimed that the club chose to sign Dembele over Mbappe because the club’s coaches “wanted a player to open the field.”
READ NEXT: Barcelona’s Jordi Alba Has Heated Clash With Vinicius Jr [WATCH]
Comments
Barcelona Send Strong Message to Dembele Over New Contract