Barcelona winger and Chelsea target Ousmane Dembele will be out of contract in 11 days’ time, but any update on his next club seems to be light-years away. Chelsea were understood to be the club most interested in the Frenchman, but is Dembele keen to reciprocate that attention?
In a recent interaction with a fan which has surfaced on social media (h/t football.london), Dembele has dropped a strong hint on his future, and it doesn’t seem to involve Chelsea.
The conversation was in French, and upon translation reads as:
Q – Are you staying in Barcelona?
Dembele – Yes.
Q – Heard anything about Chelsea?
Dembele – Just rumours.
Q – You do not want to work with Tuchel?
Dembele – I am fine in Barcelona.
Much has been said about the 25-year-old’s relationship with Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel. The pair spent one season together at Borussia Dortmund, which on paper is a very short duration but it was oh so sweet.
Dembele had 32 direct goal contributions (10 goals and 22 assists) in his 50 appearances for Dortmund, as Tuchel helped nurture the explosive talent into one of Europe’s best. Such was the impact, Barcelona shelled out a club-record amount to avail one of the world’s brightest young talents.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Dembele since, with erratic form and several injuries preventing him from reaching his true potential. It has at times been very frustrating, and his Blaugrana future has been in question for a while.
The update doesn’t necessarily mean that Dembele is staying at Barcelona, nor does it provide any hope to those wanting him to join Chelsea. His future is still very much up in the air.
According to Football London, Dembele is currently on holiday and any decision on his future is likely to be made only after he returns from vacation.
Dembele’s compatriot Jules Kounde remains Chelsea’s first order of business, so it is expected that the Blues will complete Kounde’s signing first before finalising terms with Dembele.
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