€130 million Barcelona forward gets closer to new contract, agent responsible for delays

The curtains could finally be drawn on Ousmane Dembele’s contract extension saga at Barcelona. The 24-year-old has entered the final year of his current deal with the Catalan giants and talks over an extension have been going on for quite a while without any substantial progress.

But that could be set to change now, reports SPORT. It is claimed that the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has informed his agent that he desires to continue at Camp Nou. He has advised them to reach a satisfactory agreement over a new deal, and talks are now believed to be in the final stretch.

Dembele arrived at Barcelona in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund with the club splashing around €130million for his signing, including variables. However, the winger’s time at the Catalan club has been troublesome, to say the least, as he has constantly been bogged down by injuries.

Despite that, the ex-Rennes starlet is continued to be held in the highest of regards by the Barca hierarchy who have been intent on tying him down to a new contract for a while now.

But their efforts were proving to be futile as Dembele’s agent was causing delays in hope of getting a better deal from elsewhere for his client, with there being interest from Manchester United, Juventus and Chelsea. However, with the player himself now instructing that his priority is to continue at the club, there is a lot of optimism that a new deal could be tied up by next month.

Barcelona are willing to offer Dembele a new three-year deal with a fixed salary lower than that in his current contract. However, they plan to make up for it by including bonus clauses in the deal which would guarantee him a bump in pay based on his playing time.

In case the extension is not finalised by next month, the Blaugrana are prepared to take drastic actions and stop Dembele from playing for the club. For now, however, it does not seem to be an issue and the French attacker could be in line to make his first appearance later tonight when Barcelona take on Dynamo Kyiv in a crunch Champions League contest.