Barcelona face being stuck with Ousmane Dembele with ‘no-one willing to stump up even HALF of the £135m fee they paid three years ago’
- Ousmane Dembele joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund for £135m in 2017
- The Frenchman has struggled to adapt to life at the Nou Camp due to injuries
- Barcelona want to cash in but might not get the offer they want for Dembele
Ousmane Dembele is set to stay at Barcelona as no club will reportedly pay up half of the £135m paid for the French winger three years ago.
There were high hopes for the 22-year-old when Barcelona signed the Frenchman from Borussia Dortmund back in 2017.
But the winger has been riddled with injuries during his time at the Nou Camp and this has restricted his progress.
Ousmane Dembele has struggled with injuries since he joined Barcelona three years ago
Now Marca are reporting that Barcelona are willing to sell Dembele but ‘no one is ready to match’ Barcelona’s asking price of 60 million euros (£52m).
Dembele’s agent met with the Catalan club before his most recent injury to discuss a potential departure this summer.
It was decided that his future would rely on his progress this season, but he has only completed 90 minutes three-times and there have been claims that backroom staff have ran out of patience with him.
Numerous reports in recent months have revealed that Barca believe Dembele’s poor diet is the reason behind his injury woes.
Barca boss Quique Setien is an admirer of the 22-year-old and believes his talent still outweighs the physical and lifestyle problems that have marred his stay in Spain.
Dembele suffered a muscle injury during Barcelona’s Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund back in November, which was expected to keep him out for two months.
No club are reportedly willing to pay half of the £135m Barcelona paid to sign Dembele
However, a further setback upon his return to first team training means he is now likely to be out until at least August.
Despite his troubles, Dembele still has a respectable output in the final third, having scored 19 goals and made 17 assists in 74 games for the club.
That tally is in line with his form at Borussia Dortmund, where he found the back of the net 10 times in 50 games, while making a further 22 goals.