Chelsea report: Ousmane Dembele closing in on £18m switch, with two other clubs interested

Chelsea target Ousmane Dembele
(Image credit: PA)

Chelsea look like making Ousmane Dembele a surprising £18m signing – but they face competition to wrap up the transfer before Monday's deadline.

That's according to the Daily Mail who state that the 24-year-old is also being targeted by another unnamed Premier League side. 

Barcelona star Dembele was brought in to replace Neymar for an incredible fee of over £100m but has suffered with consistent injury issues during his time at the Camp Nou. He still has the ability to change games though – and with incredible two-footedness, good ball-striking ability and vision, he could well revitalise Chelsea's attack. 

Thomas Tuchel has a history of working with Frenchman, too. It was Tuchel who managed Dembele during his breakout season at Borussia Dortmund before he made the switch to LaLiga.

But though Chelsea are interested – they're by no means the only side.

Paris Saint-Germain reportedly retain an interest in Dembele, who haven't given up hope on Kylian Mbappe staying. Mbappe has spoken in the past about Dembele's important to the national side – and the French giants could well bring in Dembele to play on either wing in their star-studded team.

Barcelona reportedly want to get rid of Dembele ahead of the transfer deadline on Monday so that they can free up space in their squad for another forward. The Blaugrana are linked with a swoop for Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

More Chelsea news

TRANSFERS Chelsea report: Blues to sign three Barcelona stars for an incredible £110m

TRANSFERS Thomas Tuchel: Antonio Rudiger does not need pampering to sign new Chelsea deal

TRANSFERS Chelsea report: Blues to sign £33m 'next Kylian Mbappe'

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.