Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has told the Daily Mirror that Ousmane Dembele won’t be leaving, amid links with Arsenal.
Le 10 Sport claimed two weeks ago that Pierre Emerick Aubameyang wants Arsenal to sign Dembele this summer.
However, any hopes that the Gunners would be able to get a deal over the line for the winger have quickly been dashed.
“Messi is untouchable & non-transferable,” Bartomeu said. “He knows it, we all know it.
“But there are various non-transferable players like (Marc Andre) Ter Stegen, (Clement) Lenglet, (Nelson) Semedo, (Frenkie) De Jong, (Antoine) Griezmann, (Ousmane) Dembele… players we are counting on in the future.”
Even if Barca had opened the door for Arsenal to sign Dembele, bringing him in would have been extremely difficult.
The French international cost Barca a fortune, and Arsenal almost certainly wouldn’t have the money to buy him permanently.
There may have been hopes that a loan deal could be struck, but Bartomeu’s comments suggest that won’t be happening.
The Barca presidents comments could also be a blow to Tottenham.
Jose Mourinho’s side have been said to be chasing Nelson Semedo as they search for a right-back, with Guillem Balague suggesting that they made contact with Barca back in June on his own Youtube channel.
However, it seems that Tottenham will miss out, with Barcelona wanting to keep the rapid Portuguese defender.
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