Chelsea’s transfer ‘talks’ with former £100m man linked with Manchester United

Chelsea are said to be in the race to sign Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele this summer.

The French winger is on course to leave Barca for nothing ahead of next season having rejected a number of contract offers.

He joined the Blaugrana for more than £100million in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund, and it’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to expectation.

Dembele has struggled with injury issues, and despite that, Barca have offered him a new deal, determined to miss out on a transfer, and indeed to get the best out of their investment on the pitch.

The winger has resisted the offers, though, which would have required him to take a pay cut to stay at Camp Nou.

He could now be available for nothing this summer, and according to Sport, Chelsea are going strong to secure Dembele’s signature this summer.

It’s reported the Blues tried to sign him in January, but they failed to manage it with Dembele wanting to stay put until the end of the season.

According to the report, only Chelsea, Juventus or Manchester United will be able to afford him this summer.

And Chelsea are already said to have started negotiations with his representatives.

The deal would cost the Blues nothing in the way of a transfer fee, but given he will arrive for free, Dembele will command a very large fee, as well as a large sign-on fee.

Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked with a move ahead of this summer, but they have not been named in this report, which is an interesting development in itself.

Though, that could change should Kylian Mbappe’s wage be freed up between now and the end of the season.