Barcelona close on Ousmane Dembele new contract; Raphinha terms agreed

Ousmane Dembele is close to signing a two-year contract extension at Barcelona, with a deal for Leeds winger Raphinha also now agreed.

The summer transfer window headlines have been dominated by Barcelona, who despite in being complete financial disarray, are involved in a number of deals for some of the world’s best players.

Discussions are ongoing with Manchester United over the potential sale of Frenkie de Jong, and even though president Joan Laporta has insisted that he doesn’t want to let the Dutchman go, his departure could be pivotal to unlocking a number of other deals for Barca.

Among the Catalan giants’ highest priorities is signing Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, but there’s also been a renewed emphasis in recent weeks over tying Ousmane Dembele down to a new contract.

The French winger’s Camp Nou career has been up and down to say the least and it has seemed a near certainty for months that he would be leaving the club as a free agent.

Chelsea have been leading the race for his signature, with Thomas Tuchel needing to bolster his attacking options, but a late intervention from Barcelona manager Xavi has seen the club do all they can to get Dembele to stay.