Date: 14th June 2022 at 5:13pm
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Chelsea have received promising news in their pursuit of Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele.

The Lowdown: Remarkable Comeback

The 25-year-old only made his first La Liga appearance in November.

In January, his boss Xavi said that the France international would have to sign a new deal on lower wages or be sold.

Chelsea were reportedly close to signing the £27m-rated star, but the former Borussia Dortmund attacker has had a remarkable transformation in the second half of the campaign.

Since his first league appearance, the 2018 World Cup winner has featured 21 times, only missing four league games.

He has been fundamental in Barca’s rise up the table, from seventh before his return, to finishing the season in second.

The Latest: Dembele Will Leave

His performances have led to the Catalan club trying to get Dembele to sign a new deal, but according to Spanish publication Sport, he has rejected their final contract offer.

The Rennes Academy graduate will be a free agent this summer, with his contract expiring on June 30th.

Sport are also reporting that the Blues have had serious negotiations with the £287k-per-week trickster, with the west London club being his preferred destination.

 The Verdict: World-class Player

Barcelona were always hoping that the 2016 Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year would become the top player he had the potential to be.

Former Barca president Josep Bartomeu claimed that “Dembele is better than Neymar” and former teammate Lionel Messi called 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.”

This season he has finally hit those heights. Despite his late start, The 5 foot 10 winger is top of LaLiga playmaking charts with 13 assists and has the highest amount of goal-creating actions.

His WhoScored league rating of 7.46 can only be bettered by Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr, and the Barca no. seven is in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top 5 leagues for assists, crosses, dribbles, and progressive carries.

Thomas Tuchel will also be working with a familiar face following their time together at Borussia Dortmund, if his time in Germany is anything to go by, the 2017 Bundesliga Rookie of the Season coming to Stamford Bridge spells good news for Lukaku.

At Dortmund, he combined effectively with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with the duo combining for 13 goals. Only Messi combined for more goals at one club with the 25-year-old.

Dembele then would be a great signing that could add another dimension to Chelsea’s attack.

AND in other news, Thomas Tuchel wants “phenomenal” £13.5m-rated gem to replace wantaway star at Chelsea…

 

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