Manchester City have joined the race to sign Borussia Dortmund youngster Ousmane Dembele. Pep Guardiola is very keen to bring the French player to the Etihad Stadium to combine with the likes of Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus.
Dembele impressed in his first season with Dortmund and has already triggered interest among the top European clubs. He moved to the Signal Iduna Park in the summer of 2016 and has made a mark in his opening campaign.
City have already acquired the services of Bernardo Silva but Guardiola wants more firepower up front to fight for the Premier League title next campaign. Dembele reportedly had a chat with Pep Guardiola over his future prospect and his role in the team.
Barcelona also seemed to have expressed their interest in the French attacker. The Blaugrana have already had a bid rejected for the French youngster and are expected to be back with a renewed effort.
City have prioritised Kylian Mbappe as one of their targets in the summer window but Monaco’s valuation of the player has knocked them backwards. The French giants have valued the player upwards of £100m and it would be a bit of gamble for the English side which they are not ready to take as of now.
Compared to him, Dembele proves to be a far better target in terms of value. The 20-year-old is more experienced than Mbappe as he already had two great years in two of the world’s most competitive leagues.
Dembele’s pace and power have been his main strength. The youngster can be deployed anywhere across the front three and has a brilliant eye for goal. He can create havoc in any team’s defence with his skill and defence-splitting passes.
The 20-year-old has already got the call-up from the national team and is one of the future stars for his country. Dortmund are not ready to let the player move after just one season. Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc has made it clear that the player is very much in their plans and any breach of contract would not be tolerated. “Ousmane Dembelé has a long-term contract and there are no negotiations.”
Dembele would be a hit in City’s possession based attacking football but with Dortmund already making their intentions known, City might change their plans a bit. Guardiola is ready to wait for the player to get him more developed before launching a bid for the player.
