Ousmane Dembele is reportedly 'closer' to signing a new deal at Barcelona as Raphinha's move to Chelsea seems imminent after Deco's talks with Joan Laporta came to nothing.
The two wingers have been targets of Todd Boehly and more specifically manager Thomas Tuchel this summer, who wants to re-shape his attacking trio after Romelu Lukaku returned to Inter Milan on loan. Manchester City's Raheem Sterling is expected through the doors in a deal which could reach £45million but there is still work to do on the Raphinha deal.
This is despite Boehly agreeing a fee north of £55m verbally with Leeds for their Brazilian talismanic figure. However, he appears to have wanted to delay discussions over personal terms to see if his dream club Barca were to come in for him at the 11th hour. Deco was even spotted at Barca's HQ on Wednesday and Thursday, which was potentially an ominous sign, although their financial situation always meant that they would be up against it in this ongoing Raphinha battle. This has been confirmed by Barca Journalist Shay Lugassi who has tweeted: 'Sources at Chelsea say that despite Deco's meeting with Barcelona, they believe Raphinha will play at Stamford Bridge next season because they do not see much chance that barca will equal her offer with Leeds. The player wants FCB, but the differences are big.'
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With Raphinha's future potentially depending on what happens with Dembele, Chelsea supporters will be watching very closely to see how the dominos fall. And the big one in this equation hints at big news for the Blues.
This is because as per Spanish outlet Diario AS, they have reported that ' In the last few hours, Ousmane Dembele has gotten closer to renewing his Barcelona deal as Raphinha looks destined to sign for Chelsea.'
Barca's attempts to land the Brazilian seem to have come to no avail as Tuchel moves closer to acquiring a key component of his attacking refresh. However, with that means any hope of a Dembele reunion look to have faded away as the Frenchman's desire to remain put at the Camp Nou seemingly has made this a no go for Boehly, who is moving quickly in the transfer window to secure top targets.
With pre-season beginning this weekend for the Blues, both Sterling and Raphinha could be involved in the early parts of the programme with both deals now advanced to a point where any hijacking attempts would be near impossible. Talks with Deco on Thursday to hash out personal terms should be the final nail in Barcelona's and Arsenal's coffin regarding Leeds' number 10.
Chelsea fans- Would you prefer Raphinha to be signed over Ousmane Dembélé or the other way round? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments section!
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