?Borussia Dortmund’s chief executive Hans Joachim Watzke has put his foot down on the Ousmane Dembele saga and has issued FC Barcelona a two week deadline to finalise a deal for the scintillating French starlet, according to a report published by Daily Mail.
After flogging Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in a record breaking deal supposedly worth in excess of £200m, Barca are hunting for the Brazilian’s replacement and have pinpointed Dembele as the perfect candidate to do so at the Camp Nou, although La Liga giants will have to fork-out substantially if they’re to nab his signature.
In a bid to end the debacle before it gets painfully arduous, Watzke has indeed devised a strict ‘two game’ time-limit for the Blaugrana to adhere to; if they are to exceed the specified window, they’ll presumably stand no chance in securing the 20-year-old’s services.
Speaking to German outlet Kicker, BVB’s chief executive said: ‘The time horizon is enough for two games.’
It’s been said that Dortmund have rejected an initial bid worth £90m for the winger, although the German outfit are aware that the Catalans are in no rush to reinvest the money gained from Neymar’s sale.
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Barcelona have their eyes peeled all across Europe, however, as the club are also allegedly tailing Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho to fill the Brazilian poster-boy’s void, so Dortmund are well within their right to play hard-ball if there are other options open.
After losing 3-1 to bitter domestic rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup first leg, the pressure on Barca’s hierarchy is rising to find a new offensive threat, and now that they have an ultimatum to beat from Dortmund, perhaps now they’ll promptly endeavour to land a notable signature before it gets too late.
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