Ousmane Dembele is apparently set to stay at Barcelona with the French winger close to convincing his representative, Moussa Sissoko, that it's the best thing for his career. If the 25-year-old does remain at the Camp Nou, the Catalonian outfit will reportedly end their interest in Leeds United winger Raphinha.
With Dembele's contract running out at the end of the month, Chelsea were believed to be interested in securing a free transfer for the Barca man. Although they've seemingly turned their attention to Manchester City's Raheem Sterling in recent days, football.london understands that the Blues will bring in more attacking players this summer and it looked as though Dembele would join this revamp.
However, as per Catalonian outlet ara, Dembele believes staying at Barca and working under Xavi - who has always believed in his ability - is the best thing for his career. The report adds that with the Frenchman set to remain in Catalonia, the club will no longer pursue Leeds United winger Raphinha.
READ MORE: Manchester United 'join race' to sign key Arsenal transfer target as bid rejected
That in turn is good news for Arsenal, Tottenham and even Chelsea should the latter plan a late move for the Brazilian.
Arsenal are said to have already had an opening bid rejected, but the Gunners are reportedly intent on signing Raphinha with a second offer on the way. There's also been suggestions that Spurs have informed Leeds that they're planning to make a bid of their own for Raphinha, although, according to The Athletic, moving to Tottenham is his fourth choice option, behind Barca, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Now that Barca are said to no longer be in the picture and Chelsea focused on bringing in Sterling first, Arsenal and Spurs in particular have less competition to worry about in the race for the Brazil star.
With Leeds evading the drop, the Brazilian now has a £65million release clause, according to The Guardian, which they're holding out for. It looks as though this could be one of those long transfer sagas, but only time will tell.
READ NEXT:
Find out what’s going on at the Emirates Stadium with all the latest news
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: Tielemans 'agreed terms', Raphinha 'bid', Gabriel Jesus talks
Full Arsenal Premier League fixture list for 2022/23
Joao Felix price revealed after Atletico Madrid U-turn amid Arsenal and Tottenham transfer links
Tottenham stance on Gabriel Jesus transfer bid as Arsenal lead race for Man City star
