Reports: Chelsea and Manchester United bid for €82 million rated superstar

What’s the story?

Barcelona have been behind Ousmane Dembele all summer ever since the Frenchman started tearing it up in the Bundesliga but the Express claims that both Chelsea and Manchester United have stepped in to the game after the youngster reportedly snubbed Barca’s advances.

The Catalans had initially bid €40 million for the flying winger/wide forward and had been reportedly ready to up it to €75 million, but it seems it would take a mite more than that as both Chelsea and Manchester United have gone up to the €80 – €82 million range for Dembele

In case you didn’t know

Dembele is one of the hottest properties in world football at the moment and has been ever since he burst on to the global scene with Rennes in the 2015-16 season. He had developed his games in the youth teams at Madeleine Évreux, Évreux and Rennes before moving on to the latter’s first team aged just 19. Despite having played only 29 games at the senior level, he was snapped up by Dortmund last season – for whom he made 49 apppearances scoring 10 goals.

He won the LIgue-1’s Young Player of the Year in his debut season and with Dortmund has already made it into the UEFA Breakthrough XI of 2016 and the Bundesliga Team of the 2016-17 season. He’s a big game player too – winning Borussia Dortmund the DFB Pokal with a man of the match perfromance in the final.

One of the most promising of France’s burgeoning treasure-horde of young talents, Dembele has already made 7 appearances for the senior National Team and looks set to be a permanent fixture there for many years to come.

The heart of the matter

Dembele’s snub of Barcelona has opened the eyes of the two Premier League giants to the possibility of signing one of world football’s hottest talents and with both returning to Champions League football after a brief break, and with desperate to show they still belong with the elite of Europe, they’ll seize at the chance to get Dembele.

Video

Here’s a select compilation of Dembele for those who may not have seen him in action

Quite good, isn’t he?

Author’s Take

There is no question that both Chelsea and United would seize at the chance to have Dembele wearing their kit next season, but all that hinges on what the Frenchman sees for himself – he is likely to get guaranteed starting only if sticks to Borussia Dortmund and he may yet opt for an additional season at the German club to build his reputation further and ensure that if he does move on, he’ll start 100% for the club he chooses!