Barcelona looking to sell in-form forward for a high price in January - Reports 

Barcelona are considering selling in-form winger Ousmane Dembele for a high price in the winter transfer window, Catalan outlet ARA (via Barca Universal) has claimed.

Dembele is a man reborn under current Barca coach Xavi. He has put his disciplinary issues and niggling injury worries behind him, emerging as one of the best players under the former two-time treble-winning midfielder.

The Frenchman, who joined for a whopping €130 million fee from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, recently signed a two-year contract extension (June 2024) with the Blaugrana. While his performances have established him as an integral member of Xavi’s team, it is believed that his future may still lie elsewhere.

According to the aforementioned report, Barcelona are contemplating shipping Dembele off in January for a lucrative offer. Dembele reportedly has a €100 million release clause in his contract.

If activated, the France international would get half of the amount (€50 million), as per a clause in his new deal. Dembele’s agent, who tried his best to stop him from signing an extension in July, also reportedly believes that his client should leave Camp Nou.

Barcelona reportedly believe that selling Dembele would fetch them a lucrative sum, and it falls in line with their plans to sign Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio as a free agent. Granted Dembele remains fit and maintains his form, there could be a line of suitors ready to match his release or even exceed it.

Dembele finished as La Liga’s highest assist provider in the 2021-22 campaign, setting up 13 goals in only 21 appearances. He has thus far featured in 39 games for Xavi across competitions, registering four goals and 17 assists.

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Xavi considers Ousmane Dembele to be an “important” part of his Barcelona project

Ousmane Dembele has been in bubbling form for Barca this season, pitching in with two goals and four assists in eight games for the club in all competitions. Following Barca’s 5-1 victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League on September 7, during which Dembele provided two assists, Xavi heaped praise on the Frenchman.

He said (via Football-Espana):

“He is happy, enjoying himself, content, he is important for me, for the group… He makes the difference, assists, scores, he is a knife and he is in a good moment. I don’t want to shower him in praise but the capacity he has in the one-on-one is at the level of the best Neymar. He has to be more bold, shoot at goal more and score.”

By his own admission, Xavi considers Dembele to be an integral member of his team. It is unlikely that Barcelona will overlook their coach’s plans and sell one of their best performers.