Reported Newcastle United transfer target Ousmane Dembele came off the bench to score his first goal of the season and spare Barcelona’s blushes last night.
The Frenchman came on at half-time with Barcelona trailing 1-0 to Linares Deportivo, who play in the third tier of Spanish football.
In the 63rd minute, the 24-year-old scored a curling effort from distance which found the bottom corner and brought Xavi’s side level.
It was Dembele’s first goal in nine months for the Catalan giants and it continues his recent return to form.
The former Borussia Dortmund man now has three goalscoring contributions in as many matches, following assists against Elche and Sevilla.
The World Cup winner should have had two goals to his name against the Spanish minnows, but after gliding past two Linares Deportivo defenders with a neat dummy, his powerful left-footed effort clipped the bar.
Fabrizio Romano provides update on Ousmane Dembele
In the latest Vibe with Five podcast, Rio Ferdinand asked transfer expert Romano for an update regarding Dembele’s future, following the breakdown in contract talks between him and Barcelona.
As things currently stand, the electric winger is set to leave the Nou Camp at the end of the season as a free agent.
With six-months remaining on his current contract, the 24-year-old is able to negotiate with foreign clubs regarding a potential free transfer in the summer.
90 Min reported last week that Newcastle are keen on bringing Dembele from Barcelona to St. James’ Park in the summer of 2022.
Romano confirmed that Newcastle has approached Dembele’s agent and have made a ‘very good’ financial bid to the Frenchman.
But Romano claimed that Dembele has not decided on his future because he has ‘a lot of opportunities’ including other Premier League clubs, staying at Barcelona and a potential move to Paris Saint Germain.
Xavi remains hopeful that Dembele will sign a new contract with the Europa League side, but PIF will no doubt be monitoring the situation.
Dembele is showing signs of his best form and if he can stay fit then there aren’t many sides across Europe who would turn down the opportunity of adding the talented matchwinner to their ranks.
Signing La Liga winner Kieran Trippier in the midst of a relegation battle shows the pull Newcastle already have, and if we manage to beat the drop, there is no reason why we cannot dream of thinking Dembele could come to Tyneside in the summer.
Barcelona may be struggling to offer the wages that Dembele seeks, but that shouldn’t be an issue for the world’s richest club.
Signing Dembele would be a gamechanger and would be a huge statement of intent. But right now signing Barcelona’s number seven is nothing more than a pipedream as we are engulfed in a relegation dogfight.
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