Dembélé, at the crossroads: if he doesn’t renew, he won’t play anymore

Xavi Hernández still trusts that Ousmane Dembélé will end up taking a step forward and accept Barcelona’s downward renewal offer, despite the constant obstacles that his agent, Moussa Sissoko, is putting up in the negotiations. What is clear is that the situation, in no case, is going to last much longer. Tonight, Xavi has a meeting with the director of football, Mateu Alemany, to agree on the steps to follow, depending on the French striker’s response.

If Ousmane accepts the renewal offer, which has been on the table for five months, the player would enter the call to start against Athletic, forming a trident of attack with Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati. If finally, the answer is negative, as it seems that it will end up being, a new scenario opens, in which to begin with, Dembélé would not enter the list, since from that very moment an immediate exit from the club would be sought for him, since be it in the form of transfer, release letter or unilateral termination of the contract. In no case is it contemplated that the player ends the season in the stands without playing a game, nor that it last until June 30 and then go free.

The situation is so exceptional that Xavi has postponed the squad list until Thursday before traveling to Bilbao, to find out whether or not he can include Dembélé in the squad. If the Frenchman still does not accept the offer, the club will apply the first corrective measures, even if that harms the team sportingly, which will not be able to count on Ousmane, precisely in a match where Luuk de Jong, who is sanctioned, and Memphis Depay, who drag muscle discomfort. Hence, Martin Braithwaite, who was not yet to be discharged, has all the numbers to enter the list, after four months in the dry dock due to injury, in order to help the team between ten and fifteen minutes, if the technicians consider it necessary.