Barcelona close to Dembélé deal after agreeing €150m fee with Dortmund

Barcelona have confirmed they have reached an agreement in principle to sign Ousmane Dembélé from Borussia Dortmund, with the France forward now expected to become the second most expensive player in history in a deal that could be worth €150m (£138.4m).

Talks over Dembélé, who has been suspended by Dortmund since 10 August after he missed a training session, had broken down after Barça refused to meet the German club’s valuation. An offer worth more than €100m was rejected two weeks ago, with Dortmund insisting that they would not accept less than €150m for the player they signed from Rennes last summer for a 10th of that cost.

However, it is understood that after weighing up a fourth bid for Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, Barcelona officials instead opted to return for the 20-year-old, with a deal worth an initial €120m with up to €30m in add-ons finally agreed on Thursday.

A club spokesman confirmed to the Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo that negotiations had gone very well, adding that an agreement in principle had been reached. Sources close to the player are also confident that Dembélé – who scored six goals in his debut season in the Bundesliga – will now complete his move to La Liga, with the forward expected to be unveiled over the weekend.

Barcelona have been tracking Dembélé ever since the age of 15, when he came through the youth setup at Rennes. They expressed an interest last summer when he eventually moved to Germany and have kept in touch with his representatives ever since, with the player having made no secret of his desire to one day play for the club.

Dembélé, who has been training in his own since being suspended by Dortmund for returning to Paris without the permission of the club, is expected to sign a five-year deal with Barcelona having already discussed terms. Rennes will be due up to €25m after inserting a sell-on clause when he left last year. The move will cap a meteoric rise for the forward, who made his international debut last September and scored in France’s friendly win over England in June.

(THE GUARDIAN)