Paris Saint Germain have put the wheels in motion as they attempt to make a late transfer window bid to sign Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele.
The French giants are yet to table a bid for winger Dembele but are starting to probe Barca over the potential of a deal – with his release clause set at a whopping £360million.
According to Sport in Spain and Paris United in France, the La Liga champions wouldn’t snub the deal out of hand, with Barca bosses knowing that a PSG switch is a dream of Frenchman Dembele.
Barcelona would still be reluctant to sell the 21-year-old, who signed a five-year deal last summer, having missed out on signing top target Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid.
Arsenal were said to be interested in taking Dembele on a £10m loan with a view to a £90,
PSG are hoping to reunite Dembele and pal Kylian Mbappe, having spent the summer together in Russia, and would create a super-frontline along with Brazilian Neymar.
Dembele only joined Barca from Borussia Dortmund for £100m last summer, as a replacement for PSG bound Neymar, but endured a struggling start to life at the Nou Camp.
The France World Cup winner was ruled out for four months with a hamstring injury days after his Barca debut before netting four times in 23 appearances.
Dembele hinted at his plans to stay at Barca on Wednesday, telling viewers on his Twitch channel: “I’m staying at Barcelona, I’m ready to play the Super Cup.”
On Thursday, reports in Spain said Arsenal had tabled a £90million offer for Dembele but a completed transfer never materialised as the Premier League window slammed shut at 5pm.
But while clubs in England are now prevented from adding to their squad, the deadline in Spain, France and the rest of continental Europe isn’t until the end of the month.