Chelsea are not close to reaching an agreement with Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele, despite contracting reports.
The 25-year-old had reportedly been offered a four-year deal by Chelsea ahead of his contract expiry in Spain at the end of the month.
However, the Telegraph have now reported that Chelsea are not thought to be close to reaching an agreement with Dembele.
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Thomas Tuchel worked with the winger previously, sharing a season together at Borussia Dortmund before the pair departed.
Dembele earned a record fee to Barcelona, where he has played for the last five years, whilst Tuchel subsequently ended up at Paris Saint-Germain before arriving at Chelsea in 2021.
With Chelsea’s new owners, the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium, having promised that Tuchel can take the lead on the Blues’ transfer business this summer.
This could see Dembele being brought in this summer, with Tuchel previously being asked about the 25-year-old in January.
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“He is a very good player when he is in his top level," Tuchel said.
"I am very fortunate to have trained him in my time at Dortmund. It was only one year, it should have been longer. I needed to leave and he decided to leave."
The German is reportedly ‘convinced’ that he can get the best out of the winger if Chelsea sign Dembele in the summer as he looks ahead to a potential reunion.
The Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium are prepared to make ‘bold signings’ in the summer for Chelsea as they look to close the gap in the Premier League but are not thought to be close to an agreement with Dembele ahead of the summer transfer window opening on June 10.
RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku has also been strongly linked with a move to Chelsea, having worked with Tuchel at PSG, although was not being a key player for the German.
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Chelsea may have other priorities at the moment, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen departing at the end of their contracts.
The Blues have already identified two targets to replace their outgoing defenders, with RB Leipzig’s Gvardiol and Sevilla’s Jules Kounde targeted.
It remains to be seen as to when the focus will be switched to Dembele, if Chelsea decide to sign him in the summer as the Blues currently have several attackers, with Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi all currently occupying a similar position to Dembele if he was to arrive.
Therefore, it is thought that one or more of Chelsea’s current forward options would have to leave this summer if Tuchel is to bring in alternative options.
Featured Image Credit: Sipa US / AlamyTopics: Chelsea, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Ousmane Dembele, Thomas Tuchel, Barcelona, Football