Barcelona Transfer News: Ousmane Dembele Comments Amid Latest Rumours

Barcelona's hopes of signing Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund are still alive after the German club's chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke, hinted the move is still possible.

Per Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN.co.uk, Barca have had a first bid of €100 million for Dembele, 20, rejected.

However, Watzke has now indicated there is still a chance the Spanish giants could get their man if they make an improved offer, per German outlet Funke Media (via Uersfeld): "If someone bids €500 million, he'll get every player. It's never over before the end of the transfer period."

Barca received a huge injection of cash after selling Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record fee of €222 million.

Frenchman Dembele is one of Barca's key targets to replace Neymar in Ernesto Valverde's side, along with Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, per Spanish football writer Graham Hunter on BBC Radio 5 live:

Liverpool have made it clear Coutinho is not for sale, going as far as releasing a statement on the matter on Friday, per Squawka:

As a result, and especially in light of Watzke's latest comments, Dembele looks like Barcelona's best option as the transfer window nears its close.

Watzke mentioned an offer of €500 million, but it is likely he was making it clear to Barca that BVB want a significant increase on their original offer for Dembele.

The Bundesliga outfit know Barca have just received a huge sum for Neymar, and they also know they have one of the brightest young attacking talents in Europe on their books.

Arguably no player in world football could act as a direct replacement for Neymar.

But Dembele has the potential to be a superstar having slotted in comfortably at Signal Iduna Park in 2016-17 after his move from Rennes last summer.

Despite his youth, he almost immediately became the creative fulcrum of Dortmund, providing a combined 18 assists in the Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League and netting eight goals, per WhoScored.com. 

Dembele is only likely to get better with the more experience he gains, and he would surely be phenomenal among the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the Camp Nou. However, Barca are going to have to pay big if they want to sign him.