Reports: Real Madrid to challenge Barcelona's €140 million bid for sensational forward

What's the story?

Barcelona are in quite the quagmire, aren't they? Having lost arguably the heir to the Messi-Ronaldo throne to PSG, they've lost face and a key attacking component in a double-blow the likes of which they surely thought they'd never see again after the Luis Figo debacle.

The issue now is that clubs from whom Barcelona are seeking replacements know that the Catalans have a lot of moolah to spend, and have upped the price of their players - don't you just love the pure capitalism of the football economy?

This goes a long way in explaining why Barcelona were ready to spend €140 million on Borussia Dortmund's rather sensational wide forward Ousmane Dembele, as per reports in AS. The Spanish newspaper, though, have added a twist to the tale... and what a twist it is!

Real Madrid are all set to spoil Barcelona's best laid out plans and are apparently in touch with Borussia Dortmund over potentially obtaining the services of the exciting young Frenchman.

In case you didn't know

This comes in the wake of reports that suggest PSG pipped Madrid to their key target, Kylian Mbappe. Dembele would add another layer to an already multi-layered, dangerous, team and it's hard to see Barcelona regain any reputation if they do end up on the losing end of this particular fight.

This is compounded by Liverpool's insistence that Philippe Coutinho is not for sale - despite the incessant pressure from both player and the buying club, Barca. The Blaugrana really seem desperate to sign someone - and that's never a good position to be in when you are seeking to negotiate in a cut-throat market.

The heart of the matter

Real Madrid's Florentino Perez has apparently been in touch with his Borussia Dortmund counterpart Rainhard Reuball apparently having told him "before you sell him [Dembele] tell me how much for", and reports in Spain suggest that Madrid may be prepared to offer cash + a couple of players for the Frenchman.

Video

Dembele has that flair with the ball, that special kind which is generally reserved for players of the very top calibre:

Boy can play, can't he?

Author's Take

Well, if PSG are (supposedly) willing to spend €180 million on an 18-year-old, I suppose we have to view €140 for a 20-year-old with slightly more proven calibre a bargain?

The changing dynamics of football economics will take a while to sink in, so keeping that aside for a while... Real Madrid's interest in Dembele is sure to give Bartomeu and co. plenty of sleepless nights and will add even more spice to the tragicomic farce that is poor ol' Ernesto Valverde's first transfer window.