Barcelona Transfer News: €150M Ousmane Dembele Demands Amid Latest Rumours

Borussia Dortmund have reportedly told Barcelona they want €150 million (£135 million) for Ousmane Dembele.

According to Sport, Barca were "surprised" by the valuation—they expected a demand closer to €100 million (£90 million)—and will make a first formal bid for the 20-year-old Frenchman lower than the requested €150 million "in a few days."

The Spanish giants have money to spend after selling Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million.

However, BVB know Barca have just received a huge cash injection and are in need of a replacement for the Brazilian, which is likely why they have placed such a huge price tag on Dembele.

The former Rennes forward only joined Dortmund last summer, penning a five-year deal, but he has already proved a success at Signal Iduna Park.

While he only returned six goals in the Bundesliga in 2016-17, he provided a combined 18 assists in the German top flight and UEFA Champions League, only one fewer than Neymar's 19 for Barcelona, per WhoScored.com.

Despite his youth, Dembele has already proved he can be consistently effective, and he can also bear the burden of responsibility for being a major club's principal creator.

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As such, it is little surprise Barca see him as a potential Neymar replacement. 

There is arguably not a player in world football who could act as a like-for-like replacement for the Brazil international, but Dembele has the potential to hit the same heights.

And he is immensely versatile—able to operate in just about any attacking position whether through the middle or on the flanks—so Barca manager Ernesto Valverde would have the luxury of flexibility in his forward unit.

Given Dembele's talent, potential and versatility he would arguably be a better purchase than the other widely touted Neymar replacement, Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho.

Per Sport Bild (via the Guardian's Marcus Christenson), if Barcelona do sign Dembele it will mean Coutinho remains at Anfield:

But it seems BVB are aware of what a talent they have on their hands in Dembele, and how big an asset he could be for Barca as they look to replace one of the world's best players. 

As a result, the German club are likely to drive a hard bargain over Dembele, and Barca may be forced to cough up all of the €150 million demanded if they want to sign him.