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Report: Ousmane Dembele 'Asks to Leave' Barcelona amid Neymar Rumours
November 25, 2018
Ousmane Dembele has reportedly asked Barcelona to let him transfer away from the Camp Nou in January.
According to Goal's Bruno Andrade, Barca could use the Frenchman in a bid to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain, while Liverpool are also said to be interested in Dembele.
The 21-year-old only joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in August 2017 in a deal potentially worth up to £135.5 million.
He was ostensibly signed as Neymar's replacement having enjoyed his breakout at Rennes and an impressive single season at Dortmund.
Dembele almost immediately suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of action for four months.
This season, he has been in and out of the first team as rumours have circulated of a tense relationship with the club's top brass, per Didac Peyret of Sport.
For all the accusations of immaturity and a poor attitude, though, Dembele has netted some vital goals this season, most recently scoring a last-minute equaliser against Atletico Madrid on Saturday:
He is a huge talent and will attract a great deal of interest if he does become available in January.
It seems unlikely PSG will be open to selling Neymar back to Barca even if they are given the opportunity to sign Dembele.
The Brazilian has scored 29 goals and provided 18 assists in the 31 Ligue 1 games he has played for PSG.
Neymar guarantees a certain level of performance Dembele currently does not, and he also boasts a huge profile.
Barca would likely have to offer a substantial fee in addition to Dembele to even convince PSG to come to the table to negotiate a deal that would see Neymar return to the Camp Nou.