Dembele set to end Liverpool and Man Utd speculation with new Barca deal

Liverpool and Manchester United have received a blow in their pursuit of French winger Ousmane Dembele as it is increasingly likely that the Frenchman will pen a new contract deal with the catalan giants.

Dembele’s contract at Camp Nou runs out in the summer of 2022 and the club are naturally keen to renew the deal of a player who cost them €105 million in 2017.

Mundo Deportivo reports that, while avoiding losing Dembele for free is a major reason for the push to try and get the player to sign a new deal, Barcelona feel that the winger can still be an integral part of the squad and value his potential contributions on the pitch.

Injuries have ravaged his career at Barca, but new head coach Xavi in particular wants Dembele to stay and rates him highly.

After replacing Ronald Koeman, Xavi spoke about Dembele, saying:

“For me, Dembele, he can be the best player in the world in his position.

“But you have to work with him and demand it. It depends on him, on his mentality, that he is free from injury, that he has high performance levels.

“His renewal is a priority for me.”

Even though Xavi is clearly a massive fan of Dembele’s talents, that didn’t stop the Frenchman from suffering the wrath of his new head coach as he became the first player fined under the new regime after turning up to training three minutes later.