Barcelona attacker to enter swap for Man City winger

With the new year less than two weeks away, Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele’s contract situation still remains unresolved. The 24-year-old will enter the final six months of his deal in January and will be eligible to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs over a free transfer in the summer of 2022.

Barça, as a result, have asked the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner for a definitive answer on the matter of the contract. In case he wishes to pen a new deal, it will come as welcome news for Xavi Hernandez and Joan Laporta, who are keen on holding onto him.

If the answer is negative, the Catalans will risk losing him on a free transfer at the end of the ongoing campaign, which will come as a blow. And, in order to get out of such a scenario, the Blaugrana are once again contemplating the possibility of using the Frenchman as part of a swap deal to bring in Ferran Torres.

Indeed, El Nacional reports that Laporta & co. remain intent on landing the Spaniard from Manchester City but are struggling to arrange the finances. So, they are continuing to explore the possibility of player exchanges to lower the asking price for the Spanish international ahead of the January window.

And, Dembele is again being considered as a potential makeweight to bring Torres to Camp Nou, although previous reports have indicated that the Premier League champions are unwilling to sign the ex-Borussia Dortmund attacker.

Signed in 2017 as a replacement for Neymar, Dembele has never been able to fulfil the potential he had shown in the early stages of his career. Injuries have blighted his development at Barça, although he has looked good in the past couple of games under Xavi.

With the January transfer window only a fortnight away, it will be interesting to see what the future holds in store for the former Rennes wonderkid.