Ousmane Dembele could now perform a U-turn on his Barcelona future after holding talks over a move to Premier League strugglers Newcastle United, as reported by Sport.
It is difficult to know what to believe right now.
Since being taken over by those Saudi Arabian billionaires earlier in October, a whole host of highly-talented footballers have been linked with a move to St James’ Park, from Marcelo Brozovic to Lorenzo Insigne, Dominic Calvert-Lewin to Jesse Lingard.
How true those reports are, however, is anyone’s guess.
With Dembele set to become a free agent in 2022, he too has been catapulted into the gossip columns with speculation suggesting that he is another high-profile target for the newly-moneyed Magpies.
Is Ousmane Dembele heading to Newcastle United?
FootMercato reported that the World Cup winner could earn a staggering £245,000-a-week at Newcastle – a wage that would see him become the club’s highest ever earner – with Barcelona apparently aware of negotiations that could see Dembele swap Catalonia for Tyneside.
At the time, it seemed that Barca were fighting a losing battle attempting to keep the France international at the Camp Nou.
But, according to Sport, things are not quite as drastic as they may seem.
It is understood that Dembele wants to stay at Barcelona and, while talks over a contract extension are expected to pose plenty of challenges, there is now a belief that an agreement can and will be reached, regardless of the club’s well-publicised financial problems.
That is quite the change from what was reported last week.
Newcastle, then, may be forced to look elsewhere for the kind of marquee signing that would make the rest of the Premier League sit up and take notice.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, however, given that Dembele has an injury record that would make even Michael Owen wince.
The former Borussia Dortmund winger, who became Barcelona’s record signing when joining for a staggering £97 million in the summer of 2017, has not played a single minute of football this season.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
