While the January transfer window may have closed on Monday, the Ousmane Dembele soap opera continues to drag on.
With his current deal set to run out in six months, the 24-year-old has refused to sign a new contract with Barcelona. The Catalan giants, as a result, were desperate to move him on in the January transfer window.
There was interest from PSG, while Chelsea and Tottenham were also linked with deadline day moves for the winger. However, a move failed to materialise and he ended up staying put at Camp Nou.
However, that could be set to change as Barça are now seriously considering terminating Dembele’s contract. According to Diario AS, the club are frustrated by the entire situation as the Frenchman continues to refuse a downward renewal, while he rejected the offers he had during the January window.
As a result, Joan Laporta & co. are now set to drastic measures to put an end to this ongoing saga. The Barcelona administration is considering two options currently; handing Dembele a letter of freedom wherein the winger would leave by mutual consent or directly terminating his contract unilaterally.
The report adds that the first option is being preferred as it would make Dembele a free agent, which would free up space on the club’s wage bill, even though they will have to continue paying until he finds a team.
However, with there being little indication from the player’s camp that they would be willing to consider such a measure, the termination of the contract is a serious possibility.
The third option would have been to keep Dembele at the club and banish him from the first team. But that is not on the table as Xavi Hernandez is not in favour of sending him to the stands if he remains at Barça. In such a case, the manager would opt to use him in the squad.
However, the administration have no intentions of seeing the winger don the club’s shirt again. So, it remains to be seen how this story unfolds in the coming days.
