Ousmane Dembele has not asked to leave Barcelona, nor do the La Liga outfit have any intention of selling the Frenchman in January, according to Mail Online.
Dembele has struggled since moving to Spain in the summer of 2017. A lengthy thigh injury sustained in September of that year disrupted most of his debut season and his poor punctuality to training has seen his professionalism questioned.
However, there’s no questioning the youngster’s talents, with Dembele having scored five La Liga goals this season despite only starting seven games. His last-minute equaliser away to Atletico Madrid last weekend may well be a decisive moment in the title race come the end of the season.
This recent news will come as a big blow to both Liverpool and Arsenal with the Premier League pair reportedly keeping a close eye on Dembele’s situation in Catalonia. The news will perhaps come harder to Unai Emery, with the Spaniard not having a vast array of inform wide midfielders currently at his disposal.
Despite the £135m shelled out in January, Barcelona are set to not cash in on the Frenchman, who has certainly struggled to fill the boots of Neymar, whose £222m transfer to PSG was the catalyst behind his move to Spain.
Both clubs will now have to turn their attention elsewhere as they look to improve their squads in January to try to catch the irresistible force that is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side.
