Sport

Ousmane Dembele: Barcelona open fresh talks with winger about a new contract

Barcelona have approached Ousmane Dembele about a new contract despite trying to force him out in January.

The club initiated contact with the 24-year-old's representatives Moussa Sissoko and Marco Lichtsteiner on Tuesday to propose reopening negotiations.

They have agreed to listen to Barcelona's offer with talks expected to take place in the coming weeks.

It marks a significant turnaround after Barcelona tried to force the France winger out in January amid a stalemate over an offer that included a significant pay-cut, and was made at the same time the club were signing Ferran Torres from Manchester City.

But Dembele is now enjoying his football again under Xavi and registering some of the best attacking stats in Europe. He has the best assists-per-minute ratio in the top-five leagues this season, the most assists in Europe since the turn of the year, and the second-most in La Liga all season.

Barcelona vice-president Rafa Yuste said last week that "if Dembele continues to feel comfortable, then we can meet his agents and he could stay", with his current deal expiring on June 30.

President Joan Laporta, in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC1 on Tuesday, confirmed the reports by Sky Sports News regarding the club's rapport with Deco and their interest in the Leeds winger.

Laporta said: "Raphinha is a great player. We have good reports of him. Deco (his agent) has his work and gives us details so that we don't make mistakes. And in some cases it has helped us a lot."

Talks have been ongoing between Leeds and Raphinha over a new contract since last year, but he is yet to sign the terms on offer.

There was significant interest in him from other Premier League teams in January but a move did not materialise.

His future is expected to be back on the agenda again at the end of the season regardless of whether Leeds stay up or go down.

Raphinha's current deal runs until 2024 so Barcelona would have to pay a transfer fee to land him.

They do expect to have a limited pool of cash available to them for some purchases this summer, and hope it will be topped up by player sales, after their serious financial plight was eased somewhat by a new sponsorship deal with Spotify.

Barcelona hope Raphinha's valuation reduces if Leeds are relegated, with Jesse Marsch's side deep in the fight, seven points clear of the drop-zone with eight games left, but having played at least a game more than those below them.

Barcelona will mostly target free transfers this summer, and Sky Sports News has already reported their interest in signing Chelsea duo Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta - both set to be free agents in the summer.

Barcelona have already agreed a pre-contract with Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie to join them from AC Milan, and have recently registered their interest in Paulo Dybala now that he has decided not to renew his contract at Juventus.

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