Chelsea draw up fresh Ousmane Dembele plan but summer move rests on one condition

Every transfer deal done before the deadline

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Chelsea could look to bring Barcelona outcast Ousmane Dembele to Stamford Bridge on a free transfer ahead of next season, according to reports. The Blues were heavily linked with a late approach for the Frenchman on deadline day but his proposed move to west London failed to materialise before the end of the January window.

Dembele and his representatives were on the lookout for a new club in the mid-season market after he was deemed surplus to requirements by Barcelona last month.

His failure to agree a new contract with the Catalan giants saw him placed on the transfer list with only a few days left to thrash out a move elsewhere.

Chelsea reportedly explored the idea of launching a last-gasp bid for the 24-year-old, who played under Thomas Tuchel at Dortmund before joining Barcelona in 2017.

However, the Blues were unable to strike an agreement with their Spanish counterparts, meaning that Dembele will stay at the Nou Camp until the end of the campaign.

It seems as though Chelsea may eventually decide to pursue a summer move for the winger, who has made just 11 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona this season.

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They are still keen on signing Dembele and are considering whether or not to chase his signature on a free transfer at the end of the campaign, according to football.london.

The report claims that Chelsea were never close to signing the player last month, with a potential deal pretty much a non-starter.

His contract at Barcelona is set to expire in June, though, meaning that he could be snapped up for nothing in just a few months’ time.

However, Chelsea would need to sell at least one or two of their existing attackers in order to free up space on their wage bill for Dembele’s lucrative salary.

The likes of Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech would represent the obvious candidates to be shipped out after failing to assert themselves at Chelsea over the last few years.

Meanwhile, there is a chance that Barcelona could rip up Dembele’s contract over the coming days, potentially allowing a move to be made sooner.

The club will hold a meeting to discuss the situation on Tuesday with Xavi set to have the last word, according to Mundo Deportivo.

It remains to be seen whether Chelsea will eventually be successful in bringing Dembele to the Premier League or if they will miss out at the hands of another interested club.

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Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have also been credited with a desire to land the forward as of late.

Tuchel was recently quizzed on the possibility of signing Dembele but refused to shed too much light on whether a move could emerge as a realistic possibility in the near future.

“He is a very good player when he is at his top level,” the Chelsea boss told reporters last month.

“I am very fortunate to have trained him in my time at Dortmund. It was only one year, should have been longer, I needed to leave and he decided to leave.

“From there we are not in close contact, we have met here and there because of his duties for the French national team and of course I was in Paris.”

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