Forward Ousmane Dembele stays at Barcelona, so now what?
The French international did not secure a January move away from Camp Nou
Ousmane Dembele was one of the main talking points on deadline day but the Frenchman, wanted by several Premier League sides and Paris Saint-Germain, stayed at Barcelona, where he has six months to run on his contract.
Barça director of football Mateu Alemany held talks with Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United as he tried to move Dembele on but nothing materialised.
The fact Barça wanted €20 million put the brakes on any move to the Premier League and PSG, due to Financial Fair Play, only considered a player exchange to lighten their wage bill in the process.
Dembele, 24, was by his mobile all day except for when he trained with his Barça teammates at 6pm, the first session of the week ahead of Sunday's game against Atletico Madrid.
Position
Dembele's adopted position was the same on Monday as it has been throughout the whole contract saga: he was prepared to renew or leave as long as any agreement was in his interests.
He is out of contract on June 30 and Barça are set to lose him for nothing. They paid Borussia Dortmund an initial €105m for him in 2017, handing him a €400m release clause.
Now, his future, beyond the summer, is not at Camp Nou. He's been free to negotiate with other clubs since Jan. 1 and will listen to big offers to leave the Catalan club.
He could also renew with a symbolic release clause as a gesture to Barça, perhaps as a way to get minutes between now and the summer, although that's the least likely option.
