The transfer deadline is ticking and FC Barcelona knows it has to make necessary adjustments for certain players. Ousmane Dembele has been heavily linked to a move to Old Trafford. Barca hopes that its lowered asking fee for Dembele can convince the Red Devils to take them up on the offer with the transfer deadline set to close on Oct. 5.
Barca has lowered their asking fee from a previous amount of $123 million to $77 million per reports. Blaugrana and Dembele are looking for a permanent transfer, meaning a loan deal is out of the picture. The discount means that Barcelona will take a significant hit from the sum they paid to get the 23-year-old forward from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
Dembele emerged as the plausible alternative with United failing to land Jadon Sancho. Although there were claims that the chase for the English winger is not yet over, little has progressed the past couple of weeks. Though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly told the 20-year-old that a blockbuster deal is happening, nothing has come close. Making it even more unlikely is the fact that the transfer deadline will soon come to an end.
Before the recent developments, it would have made sense to initially take in Dembele but on a loan deal with an obligation to buy. The reason behind this is that the Red Devils are playing it safe, aware that the French player has his history of injuries. He underwent surgery to address his hamstring in February, raising questions about his health.
A health report was already handed to United but there seem to be questions in the air as far as its accuracy is concerned, Sport reported. So unless a surprise turn of events on Sancho happens in the coming days, Dembele looms as the plausible choice for Solskjaer unless he is looking at other options.
If the deal fails to materialize, Barca manager Ronald Koeman appears ready to keep him and give him a chance to play. He admits he has not spoken to the French forward and stressed that he only wanted happy players surrounding him at Camp Nou in a report from Beinsports.
"I will count on him and he will have chances to play if there's nothing, if there are no movements," Koeman said.
Hence, there is a chance that a deal for Dembele may not push through meaning he may end up staying at Camp Nou, Though Koeman has singled out the players not part of his future plans, he too has little options heading into the season. If not by Oct. 5, the best Dembele can hope for is to wait for the next transfer window if United or some other club is still interested in taking him in.
