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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Felix Keith

Barcelona suffer further Ousmane Dembele embarrassment as PSG copy Man Utd response

Barcelona are running out of options to shift Ousmane Dembele after Paris Saint-Germain followed Manchester United in distancing themselves from the winger.

Dembele has endured a rollercoaster January transfer window, with fresh reports about his future emerging almost every day in the Spanish media.

Barca were once so enamoured with the 24-year-old France international that they paid Borussia Dortmund £135million for his services in August 2017.

But they have grown desperate to get rid of him this month after failing to negotiate a new contract on dramatically reduced terms.

Ousmane Dembele is running out of time to leave Barcelona (Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)

Arsenal transfer deadline day LIVE! Umtiti move collapses, Dembele rejects Aubameyang swap

Just about every major European club has been linked with a move for Dembele this month, including Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

The rumoured interest comes in the wake of public comments from both Barca manager Xavi and director Mateu Alemany about trying to move Dembele on.

United moved to distance themselves from the gossip on Sunday, with the Manchester Evening News reporting that they believed Barca had fanned the flames to try and drum up interest in their player from elsewhere.

Sky Sports reported on Sunday that PSG had entered talks with Barca over Dembele, but could only do a deal if one of their players moved in the opposite direction.

Barcelona were said to be seeking a straight transfer fee of around £16m (€20m), with Dembele's wages being off their books central to the rebuild under Xavi.

Dembele’s agent, Moussa Sissoko, was filmed last week apparently taking an incoming call from PSG sporting director Leonardo .

HAVE YOUR SAY! Would Dembele make a good signing for a Premier League side? Comment here.

Barcelona are struggling to find a suitor for Ousmane Dembele (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

But BBC Sport have now reported that PSG have followed in United’s footsteps by moving away from Dembele, just hours before the 11pm transfer deadline.

Barcelona remain focused on trying to find a suitor for Dembele, whose contract will expire on July 1 if he remains at the club for the rest of the season.

According to The Independent, the Catalan club have now offered the France international to Arsenal as part of their ongoing negotiations for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Barcelona are close to agreeing a deal to take Aubameyang on loan until the end of the season, with the Gabon international flying to Spain without Arsenal's permission to complete the deal.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is close to joining Barcelona on loan (PA)

They will pay the majority of the 32-year-old’s £350,000-a-week wages, but the outlay makes finding a home for Dembele all the more important.

The report states that doing a swap deal for Aubameyang and Dembele ‘may be too difficult’ on transfer deadline day.

Dembele has contributed 31 goals and 23 assists in 129 appearances for Barcelona over the past four and a half years.

But after recovering from a long-term injury, he has struggled for consistency this season, returning just two assists in 10 appearances.

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