Dembele looks for Newcastle transfer as Barcelona contract talks stall

The France forward, who hasn’t played a single game this season, could be in line for a lucrative free transfer to St. James’ Park next summer

Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele would be open to a move to Newcastle United at the end of his contract at Camp Nou, Goal has learned.

The France international has made little headway on extending his current deal, which expires in June 2022.

He is now looking elsewhere, with the Magpies featuring among the top candidates for his signature.

The Catalans are still to keen to tie Dembele down to a new contract, having made an offer to renew for two or three years. Those approaches have fallen on deaf ears, with the star’s agent failing to respond to Barca’s proposal.

Now the club suspects Dembele has already begun to offer his services elsewhere in Europe, including Newcastle, who are expected to spend heavily in the coming months following their takeover by the Saudi-backed Public Investment fund.

Reports in Spain suggest contact has already been made between the Premier League side and Dembele’s agent, with a potential €15 million-a-year, five-year deal on the table which would also include a hefty €15m signing-on bonus.

Barca meanwhile are not impressed with the calls to St. James’ Park, and will not continue to wait indefinitely for an answer to their renewal offer.

Dembele joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 following Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain, with the Catalans paying out a reported €105m plus up to €40m add-ons for the forward’s services.

Fitness and injury troubles have stopped the France international from making a real impact at Camp Nou, and he has managed just 30 goals in 118 games in all competitions since joining.

He has not featured at all for Barca in 2021-22, reportedly because the club are unwilling to field him while he remains in a contract stand-off.