Man Utd pressing for Dembele as Barça demand decision from forward

Ousmane Dembele's future remains in the air. Despite Barcelona being in regular contact with the forward's camp, there's still no agreement over a new contract and time is running thin.

Barça are aware that there are conversations with various clubs interested in signing him for free next summer, one of them being Manchester United.

The English club have been tracking him for over a year and are ready to make a big contract offer to lure him away from Camp Nou when his contract expires.

October will be a key month for Dembele's future because Barça don't want to wait any longer to know if he is going to sign a new contract or not.

Barça's latest offer was made weels ago but Dembele's agents are still asking for changes to a deal that would be three years in duration.

The financial side of the agreement is the problem. Barça don't want to increase the forward's salary because while he has tremendous potential, injuries have held him back since he signed for €125 million from Borussia Dortmund.

Several teams are tracking the situation ahead of a potential free transfer in 2022. Barça know United, who made an offer in the summer of 2020 and almost signed him on loan, are one of them.

United's first bid to sign Dembele fell through because Barça demanded he extend his contract by one year if he went out on loan to protect their investment.

Juventus, Chelsea and Liverpool are the other clubs who at various stages have shown an interest in Dembele and Barça are reaching a point where they cannot wait anymore. They want an immediate response because from January he can talk with whoever he likes.

Barça have told him he will have an important role and shown a lot of affection in recent months, reminding him how they have stuck by him through various injury problems.

Dembele is happy in Barcelona but he's still not given the green light to prolonging his deal, either. In theory, he's close to returning from an injury but if he does not renew it's likely he will remain in the stands to press him into a decision.

One year in the stands, with a World Cup around the corner, is not a scenario that works for anyone involved.