ARSENAL have sat down for talks with Barcelona about the availability of winger Ousmane Dembele.
ARSENAL have sat down for talks with Barcelona about the availability of winger Ousmane Dembele.
The 21-year-old was limited to just 12 starts in the league for Barca this season following his £97m transfer from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Although injuries hindered the Frenchman for large parts of the campaign, the signing of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool also meant playing time was difficult to come by.
According to reports in Spain, Arsenal’s head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has now sat down with Barcelona representatives about a possible deal to bring Dembele to north London.
Newspaper Sport say Mislintat, who joined Arsenal’s staff last November, has had ‘continuous contact’ with Dembele, with the pair sharing a close relationship from their time together at Dortmund.
They add that Dembele and his representatives are aware of the talks between the two clubs, with the player currently away with the French national team ahead of the World Cup.
Barcelona may be reluctant to sell the player on a permanent basis after paying such a hefty transfer fee just one season ago.
Whilst a permanent sale may not be on the cards, a loan deal could be possible with a view to securing more regular playing time for the attacker.
A loan agreement may also suit Arsenal as they look to recruit new players after the departure of Arsene Wenger.
New Gunners boss Unai Emery is thought to have been given a far from substantial transfer kitty to work with.
Some reports claim that the former PSG manager has between £50m and £70m to spend on new signings and therefore loan deals could be important.
Barca boss Ernesto Valverde recently suggested that Dembele does have a future at the Nou Camp.
Speaking about the Frenchman's struggles this season he revealed that he thinks the winger needs time to adapt.
“We think he can help us,” he said.
“He's very young and he has a lot of time ahead of him still.
“All players need time to adapt; when you're young there are things you need to learn.”
Asked about his future last month, Dembele told Telefoot: "I signed a five-year contract at Barcelona.
"I’m going to be in Barcelona a very long time. I’m not going to leave after a season."
Liverpool have also been linked to Dembele after Reds boss Jurgen Klopp declared his interest.
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