Barcelona close to signing 100million Dembele

By Ezekiel Olaleye

Barcelona are close to completing their fifth signing of the summer after agreeing to a €100m (£90.8m) fee for Borussia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele.

Marlon Santos, Gerard Deulofeu, Nelson Semedo and Paulinho are the four already signed this summer.

The Dortmund forward has been identified by the Catalan club as the ideal replacement for Neymar, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record £198m deal earlier in the summer and talks have been taking place between the two clubs since last week.

Barcelona sent a three-man delegate to negotiate with the Bundesliga club, but their first offer said to be around €80m plus €30m in add-ons was rejected as it did not meet the players’ abilities. The La Liga giants were unwilling to give up on the chase and have submitted a second offer.

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According to Spanish publication Sport, the two clubs have now agreed on a fee of €100m but are still negotiating on the performance based add-ons. It is claimed that Dortmund are demanding around €30m in variables to be paid based on appearances, goals and titles won, but Barcelona are yet to agree to meet their demand.

The 24-time La Liga champions are hoping to negotiate a lower fee for the performance based add-ons or lower the base price to reach a compromise. Dembele has made it clear that he wants to leave after trying to force a move by skipping training. He is currently suspended from training due to his actions and will be hoping that the two clubs reach an agreement at the earliest.

Dortmund are also keen to resolve the issue at the earliest and have given Barcelona a two-week deadline to complete the move. The German club will also be keen to strengthen before the end of the transfer window.

“The time horizon is enough for two games,” Dortmund chief executive Hans Joachim Watzke said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.