Barcelona obviously want to keep Chelsea-linked Ousmane Dembélé — reports

Ousmane Dembélé has been holding off on signing a new contract at Barcelona pending the election of a new club president. That created an opportunity for a few random transfer stories regarding the 23-year-old, including a tenuous link with Chelsea and less tenuous links with the likes of Manchester United and Juventus, both of whom have submitted proposals to the player’s representatives, at least according to Mundo Deportivo.

But with Joan Laporta, reportedly a huge fan of Dembélé now in charge at Barca, things can start progressing on a new contract as well, one that is set to keep the winger at Camp Nou until 2025. Dembélé has yet to make an actual decision one way or another, but he is said to be very happy in Spain, and open to signing the extension. His future had been a bit uncertain last summer after an injury-ravaged 2019-20 season, but he has proved his detractors wrong, and has become an integral part of the squad since.

While the mood at Barcelona seems mostly optimistic over an agreement, that may change if they cannot meet Dembélé’s wage demands. The Catalan giants have seen better days financially, which could open the doors for other teams to swoop in and tempt him away. But for now, it appears that Dembélé will stay and is thus, off our radar.