Barcelona have told Manchester United they need to cover all of Ousmane Dembele’s £215,000-a-week wages in order to seal a loan deal this summer, according to The Sun.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to further strengthen his squad before the transfer window closes as the United boss has only been able to bring in midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax so far this summer.
A new wide attacker is on the agenda as Solskjaer wants more options in the final third to support the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood but Man Utd are struggling to agree terms for number one target Jadon Sancho.
It means they’ve been looking at alternative targets in-case a deal cannot be reached with Borussia Dortmund and Dembele has emerged as a prime candidate with AS reporting recently that United were closing-in on a deal.
Barcelona have financial problems and need to trim their wage bill so the Catalans are ready to cash-in on the French international with The Sun claiming they would prefer to sell Dembele on a permanent basis.
Manchester United are only interested in doing a loan deal and while the newspaper says Barca are prepared to let the 23-year-old leave on a temporary basis, they’ve told Man Utd they’ll need to cover all of Dembele’s £215,000-a-week wages.
It remains to be seen how United will respond to this demand but time is running out for Solskjaer to sign a new attacker so the club will need to make a decision soon or risk ending the window with just one new recruit.
Dembele’s time at the Nou Camp has been plagued by injury problems but there is no doubting his ability so he could be an excellent short-term signing for United if they could keep him fit.
I still think the club will do all they can to land Sancho as he’s been their first choice target this summer but a loan move for Dembele could prove to be a shrewd piece of business if a deal isn’t reached with Dortmund soon.
