Ousmane Dembele has been on Chelsea's transfer radar.
According to a French outlet L’Equipe (h/t Football.London), Ousmane Dembele, who was eyed up by Chelsea during the summer transfer window, has a release clause of £43.6m in his contract at Barcelona that is valid from next summer onwards.
Dembele signed a two-year extension with the Catalan club in July to end the speculation that he would leave for free in the summer. His contract with the Spanish giants expired in June.
That extension was a blow to Chelsea’s chances of signing the 25-year-old on a free transfer. Many more clubs around Europe were also in the race.
Next summer though, the Frenchman will once again enter the final 12 months of his contract at Camp Nou. That is when the release clause becomes valid.
Dembele signed for Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017 for a deal that rose to something around £135.5m. His career in Spain has been littered with injuries, although he has always done well when playing games.
After a few underwhelming seasons, the winger did well last season with 13 assists in 21 league appearances. He has started this season in good stead as well, scoring and assisting twice in six league appearances so far.
There is no doubt that when fit, Dembele is one of the most destructive wingers in the world. He has everything in his game – be it pace, finishing power, making the right decisions and being physically strong against defenders.
He is positionally versatile as well, playing on either wing or sometimes operating as a number nine.
Chelsea have quality wingers in their squad, but none with an X-factor type quality that the Frenchman can produce. So, it would not be a bad idea to pay the release clause and sign the 25-year-old next summer.
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