Ousmane Dembele's spell at Barcelona is set to come to an abrupt end, with the club admitting they're looking to sell him before the end of the January transfer window.
Dembele has been the centre of a lot of transfer speculation in recent months, with the Frenchman's contract due to expire in the summer, when he could leave for free.
There has been plenty of talk about the wages that Dembele has been asking for at the Nou Camp, and that the club would just sell him as soon as he did sign.
That now seemingly isn't a problem, with the club confirming on Thursday that he isn't signing a new deal and will be sold in the January window instead.
"It’s clear that Dembele does not want to continue with Barcelona. He doesn’t want to be part of our project," the club's chief executive officer Mateu Alemany said on Thursday.
"We told Dembélé he has to leave immediately. We expect Ousmane to be sold before Jan 31."
There is likely to be plenty of suitors for the 24-year-old, with several Premier League clubs having been linked with him the past.
The fact that he could sign for free in six months isn't likely to put the likes of Newcastle United off trying to sign him earlier, in order to leap ahead of the competition.
However with just 11 days of the transfer window remaining it could be tough for any deal to be done, although, considering their financial issues, Barcelona will be desperate to sell and could lower their previous asking price.
Dembele moved to Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, for a deal worth up to €140 million, after just one season in the Bundesliga.
He arrived as a replacement for Neymar, but he hasn't had the impact that would have been expected for such a high fee and high reputation.
Injuries have played their part, as he has played just 129 times across the past four and a half seasons, and missed the first part of this campaign with knee and hamstring issues.
With Philippe Coutinho also having left earlier this month, on loan to Aston Villa, it really is a stark reminder of the money Barca have paid, and largely wasted, in recent years.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Transfers, Ousmane Dembele, La Liga, Barcelona, Premier League
Ryan Sidle