Chelsea suffer fresh transfer blow as Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona reach agreement

Chelsea's 2022-23 Premier League fixtures

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Chelsea have suffered another transfer blow from Barcelona after they reached an agreement with Ousmane Dembele over a new contract. It follows their attempts to hijack a transfer for Raphinha from Leeds.

Chelsea have been handed a further blow in the transfer window in their chase to sign Dembele from Barcelona.

The Blues are desperate to bolster their attacking options ahead of next season despite already having a number of wide players. Thomas Tuchel has not been impressed by his current crop, which includes substandard campaigns from Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech.

There are several players being linked with a Stamford Bridge switch including Raphinha, Raheem Sterling and even Cristiano Ronaldo. But one deal that looked like it could have been pulled off is that of Dembele.

The Frenchman is a free agent after his contract expired at Barcelona at the end of the month. Tuchel knows the player well from his time at Borussia Dortmund and a transfer was heavily tipped.

However, according to Sport, Chelsea have been dealt a cruel blow in the transfer window after Dembele took a step closer to signing a new deal with Barcelona. Staying at the Nou Camp has always been the player’s priority but negotiations had proved fruitless.

That is until now with both parties achieving a breakthrough that could leave the Blues in the lurch. Barca director Mateu Alemany holds all the cards and is one step away from green lighting a renewal.

Barcelona are also in the running to sign Raphinha from Leeds United despite interest from Chelsea. The west London club have reached an agreement over a fee and broadly landed terms with the Brazilian.

However, the forward would rather sign for Barcelona but the Blaugrana’s money troubles have stopped them from clinching an agreement with Leeds, who would prefer to sell to Chelsea. The Blues are prepared to pay up front whereas Barca are looking to utilise an instalment plan.

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