Chelsea have received promising news in their pursuit of Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele.
What’s the Word?
That’s according to journalist Nick Purewal, who has tweeted that the 25-year-old has waited to make a decision on his future until the consortium led by Todd Boehly had completed their takeover of the Blues.
“Ousmane Dembele is understood to have delayed the decision on his future in part until the #ChelseaFC #CFC sale was complete. The out-of-contract Barcelona forward has interest from PSG and Bayern among others. Chelsea could move closer into that mix too if they need a forward,” he said.
The France international will be a free agent this summer and has not yet signed a new deal with the Spanish club.
The west London club could make a move for the £27m-rated star if they decide to sign a forward this transfer window, although they face competition from Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, who are also interested.
The end of Lukaku
That the Spanish club are so eager to give the 2018 World Cup winner a new deal shows the turnaround he has had in the second half of the season.
In January Barca manager Xavi said that the Rennes Academy graduate would have to sign a new deal on lower wages or be sold.
Chelsea were reportedly interested then, but the £287k-per-week forward stayed put and has since put in some amazing performances.
He ends the La Liga season top of the playmaking charts with 13 assists, a stat made even more impressive when you consider his first appearance was in late November.
His WhoScored league rating of 7.46 is not only the highest at the Catalan club, but is also third in the league, only bettered by Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr.
The 5 foot 10 wide man has the highest amount of goal-creating actions in La Liga and is in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top 5 leagues for assists, crosses, dribbles, and progressive carries.
He has shown this campaign the potential that made former Barca president Josep Bartomeu claim that “Dembele is better than Neymar” and former teammate Lionel Messi call him a “phenomenon”.
“On the pitch [Dembele] is a phenomenon and it depends on him.
“He has all the opportunity in the world to do what he wants. He can be one of the best.”
The former Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year moving to Stamford Bridge could spell the end of Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgium international, who cost the Blues £97.5m last summer, has had an underwhelming year. His WhoScored rating of 6.83 is worse than fellow forwards Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, and Hakim Ziyech.
One particular low point was against Crystal Palace, where the former Inter Milan striker had just seven touches, the lowest recorded by Opta for an outfield player on the pitch for 90 minutes.
Thomas Tuchel could do with a different type of forward, and in Dembele, he’ll be working with a familiar face following their time together at Borussia Dortmund.
Chelsea then must do everything they can to ensure this move happens.
AND in other news, Tuchel now eyes Chelsea swoop for “world-class” £76.5m-rated star…
