After months of speculation about Ousmane Dembele’s future, the decision seems to finally have been made.
The Frenchman has entered the last 6 months of his contract in Barcelona since moving for 135 million pounds in 2016, having failed to set the world light during his time in Catalonia.
And, with the attempt to improve the Barcelona squad seeing Ferran Torres join the club, Dembele’s future was thrown even further into question.
✅¡Ferran Torres, inscrito y listo para jugar!
? 1⃣ 9⃣ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/MrARI3hn0X
— Diario SPORT (@sport) January 12, 2022
So, what next for Dembele? Well, whatever it is, it won’t be at the Nou Camp.
Speaking ahead of their clash with Athletic Club on Thursday evening, Barcelona chief Mateu Alemany revealed why Dembele was not part of the squad. The Barca man claimed:
“We understand Dembele’s decision is to not continue (at Barça) and we’ve communicated our decision (to leave him out). We want players that are committed to the club and we have told him he has to leave the club as soon as possible.”
Mateu Alemany parla de la situació d’Ousmane Dembélé pic.twitter.com/fdfIOMq6qJ
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) January 20, 2022
But where could he go?
Destinations for Dembele?
It is hard to see anyone paying a significant fee for the 24-year-old, knowing that he will be able to walk for free in the summer. However, Newcastle may wish to take the opportunity to make a statement signing under new ownership, having missed out on several of their top targets this January already.
Meanwhile, both Manchester United and Juventus are likely to be interested in the winger, while Liverpool are still in need of a quality addition to their front line. All three clubs have been linked, but only when he became out of contract in the summer, and it is unclear as to whether they would actually pay a fee.
Will we see the Frenchman on Tyneside?