Man United and Chelsea among three clubs ready to buy Dembele from Barcelona in January

Barcelona’s forward has line has been bolstered by the presence of Ferran Torres and Adama Traore in January, but Xavi feels that a striker could be the missing link to compete for glory.

Alvaro Morata was likely on his way back to Spain, but the move was halted in its tracks by Atletico Madrid. Since then, Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been linked with a move, with the two parties reportedly reaching an agreement for a six-month loan. The move will not go through, though, unless Ousmane Dembele leaves the club this window.

SPORT has come out with a report claiming that three teams are interested in signing Dembele in the winter transfer window. Namely, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain.

Manchester United

Man United have been linked with a move for the Frenchman for years, now, even coming close to snapping him from Barcelona in the summer of 2020 when Ronald Koeman joined the club.

The Red Devils signed Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 in an attempt to plug holes on their right-wing. However, the Englishman has underperformed severely along with other forwards at their disposal.

Chelsea

Chelsea face similar problems, with Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz failing to live up to their near-€100 million price tags. Jorginho is the current top-goalscorer for the Blues across all competitions with nine goals (all penalties, too).

Thomas Tuchel, too, came forward with heavy praise for Dembele recently, saying that he was “fortunate to have trained him”. With the Champions League defending champions heavily linked with the winger, these words can easily be construed as hints.

PSG

A certain Paris Saint-Germain cannot relate with these problems, though, with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Mauro Icardi, Angel di Maria, Neymar Jr, and Julian Draxler in their ranks. They have scored 46 goals in the league, and Dembele would only be a luxury signing at this point for them.

With nearly 40 hours remaining before the transfer window shuts, Barcelona will have to make quick moves; otherwise the top four and/or the Europa League will end up as a distant dream.