Barça forward Dembele puts Newcastle United's offer on hold

Barcelona are continuing to work on renewing Ousmane Dembele's contract renewal, so far without success. New coach Xavi considers the Frenchman an important part of his project and the club will try and tie him down to new terms. For now, however, the offer does not satisfy Moussa Sissoko, the player's agent.

Dembele's agent, in fact, has already started to listen to offers from other clubs. Newcastle United are one of the sides most interested in him. They have already made a move to sign him on a free transfer when his Barça deal expires in June. The club have translated an offer to Sissoko worth around 15 million euros annually and the same amount in a signing bonus. So far, Dembele has not been receptive to the offer.

The reality is that Dembele wants an interesting sporting project and for as much money as Newcastle have -- recently bought by a Saudi Arabian investment fund -- they cannot offer that. After 12 games, they are without a win in the Premier League and in the relegation zone.

Barça are aware of Newcastle's offer and are keeping communication open with the mission of continuing to work on reducing their wage bill and finding a new home for players like, for example, Clement Lenglet. Barça are still best placed to keep Dembele but for now they have still not reached an agreement.