While Barcelona are busy trying to get rid of a couple of French players, they are also getting ready to discuss a possible contract extension with another.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are set to meet with Ousmane Dembélé’s representatives next week and discuss his future.
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Barcelona want to discuss a renewal but will also take a stance
His contract is set to expire on June 30, 2022 but the club has yet to lose faith in him despite the countless injuries he’s suffered since he arrived from Borussia Dortmund.
His explosiveness and unpredictability is something Barcelona value and something they don’t have in the rest of the squad. Not to mention that he is still only 24 with plenty of future ahead of him if he can get past all the injuries.
The plan heading into the meeting is to see where the player stands and how open he is to extend his stay.
However, they are also prepared in case the meeting goes the other way and it’s made clear he has no intention of renewing. Should it be the case, Barcelona are prepared to sit him out for the season until he decides to renew or move him on during the winter transfer window.
Despite Dembélé being a favorite of Joan Laporta, the Catalans were prepared to offload him this summer. According to Sport, they were in advanced talks with an unnamed team on a possible swap deal.
Any such notions of a swap was thrown by the wayside after he suffered an injury during France’s game against Hungary at Euro 2020. It was another long term injury that required surgery and a recovery process of four months.
The injury put a stop to their plan and now have to work on getting a deal done to avoid losing him as a free agent in a year’s time. Again, given his age, he’s yet to enter the prime of his career. But with the wage limit and the club’s financial situation, any new contract will likely see Dembélé taking a wage cut, which could be one of the biggest obstacles to overcome.