Arsenal Transfer News: Gunners Reportedly Make Contact for Ousmane Dembele

Arsenal have reportedly made contact with La Liga champions Barcelona about the availability of forward Ousmane Dembele.

French source L'Equipe (h/t Sport) has said the Gunners' head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has kept up "continuous contact" with the player. L'Equipe also reported Dembele is aware of Mislintat sitting down with Barca, although the France international remains committed to "concentrating on the World Cup."

Mislintat helped old club Borussia Dortmund sign Dembele from Rennes in 2016. The precocious attacker spent one season in the Bundesliga before sealing a move to the Camp Nou worth £135.5 million last summer.

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Injuries and inconsistency blighted most of Dembele's first season in the Spanish top flight. He was restricted to just 14 stars in all competitions, contributing four goals and six assists.

Speculation has been growing Barca could quickly move on from the youthful Frenchman. In May, a report from RAC1 (h/t Callum Vurley of the Daily Star) detailed how the Blaugrana planned to offer Dembele around Europe, even being prepared to accept a loan deal to get him off the books ahead of an anticipated move for Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.

However, the L'Equipe report said going on loan is not an idea Dembele would accept. His reluctance to agree to a temporary switch would be a blow for the Gunners, who would otherwise surely struggle to afford him.

New Arsenal head coach Unai Emery only has as much as £70 million at his disposal, before sales, to fund transfers this summer, according to the Daily Telegraph's Matt Law. It would likely take a significant chunk of this budget to sign Dembele permanently, assuming Emery could convince him to forego UEFA Champions League football for a season.

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Mislintat's presence could at least give Arsenal an inside track of sorts to Dembele. The renowned scout showed faith two years ago, while Dembele formed a potent partnership in Dortmund with Arsenal's present centre-forward of choice, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Squawka Football showed how regularly the pair combined:

Arsenal may have another in thanks to a proposed deal for Juventus full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner. The Gunners are trying to acquire the 34-year-old Switzerland international on a free transfer, per La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t TalkSport.com).

It's a potential deal with possible implications for any pursuit of Dembele, outlined by Ed Aarons of the Guardian:

The Gunners have a decent chance to sign Dembele, but they won't be without competition. Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo (h/t MailOnline's Jaime Wright) reported former Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel wants Dembele at Paris Saint-Germain.

One more ex-Dortmund boss, Jurgen Klopp, is also keen on bringing Dembele to Arsenal's Premier League rivals Liverpool. Another report from Mundo Deportivo (h/t Metro's Coral Barry) said Klopp will speak to the player's mother to help facilitate a deal.

Arsenal's need for a wide forward with Dembele's pace, vision and technique is obvious. He would combine brilliantly with Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while adding width to a squad short of options on the flanks after selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez in the last year.