Ousmane Dembele has ‘verbally agreed’ a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain as the club prepare to activate the winger’s release clause at Barcelona.
PSG have informed Barcelona that the club are set to activate the €50m (£42.9m) release clause in Dembele’s deal with the Spanish side and the 26-year-old looks set to move to the Parc des Princes.
Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Dembele has given the ‘green light’ to the proposal from PSG and has ‘verbally agreed’ a five-year deal with the Ligue 1 champions. Barcelona manager Xavi had outlined his desire to keep hold of the France international, but the release clause in Dembele’s deal now looks set to lead to his exit.
Dembele scored eight goals and provided nine assists in 35 appearances for Barcelona last season, but has endured a wretched run with injuries since joining the club in a €105m deal from Borussia Dortmund in 2017. He has started no more than 20 league games in any of his six seasons at the Camp Nou.
Dembele’s arrival will continue an encouraging summer overhaul at PSG, who have completed deals for Manuel Ugarte, Lucas Hernandez, Milan Skriniar, Marco Asensio, Kang-in Lee and Cher Ndour.
Barcelona could look to reinvest the fee received in Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo, as the club consider right-back options. Ivan Fresneda – who has been linked with several Premier League clubs – is also an option after a breakthrough season at Valladolid.
