Barcelona make opening bid for Neymar replacement

 

Barcelona have lodged a bid in the region of €70m (£63.3m) plus bonuses to Borussia Dortmund for Ousmane Dembele, reports Gianluca Di Marzio.

 

The Spanish giants are looking to spend the £193m raised from Neymar’s shock departure to Paris Saint-Germain and want to sign Liverpool ace Philippe Coutinho and Dortmund winger Dembele as his replacements.

 

Barcelona are growing increasingly confident of landing Coutinho in a deal worth €100m (£90.5m) even though the line from Liverpool is that the Brazil international is not for sale at any price.

 

Ernesto Valverde’s side have also stepped up their pursuit in Dembele, although Dortmund are expected to reject their opening offer and demand the same price as Coutinho.

 

 

The 20-year-old only joined Dortmund from Rennes 12 months ago in a deal worth in the region of €12m (£10.9m) and now Bundesliga giants could be set to make an astronomical profit on the France international after just one season.

 

Dembele only reiterated his desire to win more trophies with Dortmund earlier this month but he has previously admitted he wants to play for Barcelona in the future and it could be an outcome that suits all parties if Valverde’s side pay as much as €100m.

 

The French winger completed more dribbles (103) than any other player aged under 21 in Europe’s top five leagues last season.