24-year-old La Liga ace given until 31st Dec to make a decision amidst Chelsea interest

Transfer News: Chelsea on alert as Barcelona hand Ousmane Dembele a 31st Dec ultimatum over contract renewal

According to transfer news on Sport (h/t The Express), Barcelona have told Ousmane Dembele to sort his contract situation out by the 31st of December amidst interest from Chelsea.

The French winger will complete five years at the club at the end of this season. However, it has been a career marked with injuries, as he has only racked 122 appearances in this time. To put things into perspective he has missed a total of 100 games in the same time period.

Dembele’s contract is up in the summer and the arrival of Xavi has not ‘encouraged’ him to sign a new deal. Since he is eligible to talk to foreign clubs from January 1, Barcelona have handed him an ultimatum to sign an extension by 31st December.

Chelsea have been alerted by the latest development and have already met the player’s agent. However, they have also been joined by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in this pursuit, with both clubs entering into the transfer window under new management. 

Tuchel to reunite with Dembele?

The German boss knows all about his former disciple. He signed the winger from Stade Rennais in 2016. Dembele had his best season as a player under Tuchel, scoring 10 goals and providing 21 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions.

However, since then, the French international has not been able to fulfil his potential. But there is still time to do so, and his former manager could hand him the opportunity to reach his full potential.

Tuchel has changed the complexions of Chelsea since arriving in January. We have won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and are in a three-way race for the league title. This is not a bad project to join, however, there is already a lot of talent in the Chelsea frontline.

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The Blues could certainly use a player like Dembele to add depth in the ranks but unless Tuchel plans on moving out some of his current stars, it would not be a wise decision to approach the Barcelona winger. Thus, Marina Granovskaia shall need to assess our attacking might before getting the player to sign a pre-contract in January.

Either way, it would be foolish to not take a punt at landing the player. After all, how often does a player of Dembele’s calibre become available on the market, potentially on a free.