Chelsea has been handed a major boost towards signing Ousmane Dembele before shutting the January transfer window.
Given Thomas Tuchel's previous connections with the France international from their time together at Borussia Dortmund, the Blues had been noted as one of the favourites to complete a deal.
CarefreeChelsea's Daniel Childs and Scott Clayton spoke live on the Carefree Chelsea 'Back Page' show to delve into the prospect of Dembele making a late move to the Blues before the January window slams shut at 23:00 GMT this evening.
Clayton questioned the practicality of the Barcelona winger swapping Camp Nou for Stamford Bridge, noting the £366 million worth of attacking competition that stands in his way, as per Transfermarkt.
Dembele's proposed move to Paris Saint-Germain has reportedly fallen through despite the player having agreed on personal terms with the French side.
The 24-year-old, who sees his contract with the Catalan side expire at the end of the season, has looked destined to swap Camp Nou for Les Parc des Princes in the last 48 hours, but the two clubs appear to have been unable to come to an agreement, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
When asked by Childs on the show, Clayton responded, "When the window is open, there is always a possibility, but the club needs to get rid of someone first before they even get Dembele because he'll be looking at Chelsea thinking, where is my chance coming,"
"We need to get rid of someone before he becomes a Chelsea player. Even if he signs, where does he see himself playing?
"He's got competition from Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner etcetera so for him to kick on in his career and take a step away from Barcelona to prove that he's not a flop and that he can still have the career everyone expected him to, will he get the game time at Chelsea."
Clayton added by suggesting that Dembele may be swayed into joining Chelsea because of his relationship with Tuchel at Dortmund, despite the challenges he may face with game time.
"If Tuchel and Chelsea give him that speech telling where his chance will come, then he might accept it, but right now, I can't see where the space is," he said.
Do you think Chelsea will sign Ousmane Dembele before the January transfer window slams shut tonight? Let us know in the comments.
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