Thomas Tuchel responds to rumours linking Ousmane Dembele with Chelsea

Thomas Tuchel has refused to fuel speculation linking Chelsea with Barcelona outcast Ousmane Dembele, but admits the forward is a ‘very good player’ and at his ‘top level’.

Dembele has failed to live up to expectations at the Camp Nou due to a combination of injury and disciplinary problems and the Catalan giants confirmed on Thursday that they plan to sell the 24-year-old before the January transfer deadline.

The France international – who is out of contract in the summer – was quick to respond as he took to Instagram to take aim at Barca’s conduct, insisting he would not simply lie down and ‘give in to blackmail’.

But a host of top clubs have been alerted to the situation and Chelsea have been credited with a strong interest, with Dembele reportedly available on loan for a fee of just £3million this month.

Dembele knows Tuchel well from their brief time together at Borussia Dortmund and it’s believed this connection could give Chelsea the upper hand in the race for the attacker.

Though reluctant to discuss rumours of a possible reunion, Tuchel sang Dembele’s praises at his press conference on Friday and revealed they had ‘exchanged some messages’ while he was in charge of Paris Saint-Germain.

‘He is a very good player and he’s in his top level. I’m very fortunate to have trained him in my time at Dortmund,’ the Chelsea head coach told reporters.

‘It was only one year, it should have been longer, but I needed to leave and he decided to leave.

‘From there, we are not in the closest contact. We met here and there because of his duties for the French national team and, of course, I was in Paris so this was when they were preparing for national duties.

‘It’s [France’s training base] very close to Paris so this is where we met and exchanged some messages.’

Tuchel insisted he had ‘absolutely no idea’ why Dembele had fallen out of favour at Barcelona and said it was ‘better not to talk’ about the recent gossip.

‘He is in a situation. I have absolutely no idea why he is in that situation and I have no idea what the situation and detail is,’ the German added.

‘I know how I feel about it when it is about my players so it’s better not to talk.’

Speaking after Barcelona’s Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao, Xavi said he agreed with the club’s decision to listen to offers for Dembele.

‘Dembele is important, but it is a club decision and we all agree on it,’ the Barca head coach told reporters.

‘I don’t think his absence has impacted the team.’

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