Ousmane Dembele is ready to join Chelsea from Barcelona this summer window but is seeking assurances from Thomas Tuchel before he agrees to a transfer move.
The Frenchman’s career has been revived by Xavi after his appointment at Camp Nou midway though last campaign.
Dembele’s previous five years at Barcelona had been characterised by a number of disciplinary breaches and a lack of fitness, but he recently returned to the sort of form which persuaded them to play £117m for him back in 2017.
Barcelona will make one last attempt to convince the winger to sign a new contract but, according to The Sun, Dembele already has his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge.
Now the London club’s ownership situation has been resolved, Tuchel is hopeful of assembling a team which is capable of competing with Liverpool and Manchester City.
Tuchel has worked with Dembele before at Dortmund and believes the France international can aid his quest to win the Premier League.
Dembele is keen to reunite with his former manager but wants to be sure he will be given a major first team role and is unwilling to sit on the bench, as he has done for much of his Barcelona career.
The former Rennes player appeared to play down the possibility of him joining Chelsea in footage that appeared on social media this weekend, telling a supporter he is ‘fine’ at Barca and will be staying put.
A video that has emerged on social media shows a fan discussing with Dembele as they sit in their cars at a traffic light.
‘Are you staying in Barcelona?’ the fan asks, with Dembele replying: ‘Yes.’
Spanish outlet Sport claim the supporter then asks specifically about Chelsea and whether Dembele wants to work with Tuchel, to which he replies: ‘I’m fine at Barcelona.’
