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.
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.