Tottenham Hotspur target Ousmane Dembele is refusing to sign a contract with Barcelona, Gerard Romero reports.
Dembele to Tottenham?
It was claimed just three weeks ago that Tottenham have begun work on trying to sign the winger by Mundo Deportivo.
They said that Spurs have made an approach to Barcelona over landing the French international.
If that is the case then the latest news coming out of Spain looks great for Tottenham.
Dembele apparently held talks with Barcelona over extending his deal, which expires at the end of the season.
However, Barca were unable to meet his financial demands – which means that he will no longer sign a new contract to stay at the Nou Camp.
That could leave Tottenham with the possibility of being able to land him on a free transfer, which seems to be Fabio Paratici’s plan.
Good signing?
Paratici often used the free transfer market well at Juventus, and the Italian transfer chief may be ready to utilise that strategy again at Tottenham now.
Dembele’s time at Barcelona has been fairly mixed after a huge £135 million move to the Spanish club in 2017.
He has suffered badly with injury and his form has rarely lived up to his price-tag.
However, if Tottenham were able to land a player who moved for that sum only four years ago on a free transfer it would have to be considered a good transfer decision.
There is little doubting Dembele’s ability with the ball at his feet.
He is highly skilful with both feet and possesses a great amount of skill.
If he was added to Tottenham’s attack he could present another extremely dangerous option for Antonio Conte to use behind Harry Kane.
But on a free transfer it seems likely that plenty of other clubs will join the scramble for his signature.
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