Ousmane Dembele's agent is set to undergo 'critical' talks with a vast number of different Premier League clubs as Chelsea continue to dither on a January swoop for the Thomas Tuchel favourite.
Dembele, 24, has known for a short-time that he has no future with Barcelona after his latest contract snub and the hierarchy in Catalunya are hoping that one club can take the Frenchman off their wage books.
Initially, it looked nailed on that Chelsea would be the destination for the former £100 million rated player but Marina Granovskaia's reluctance to sign anyone this month who isn't a full-back has put the brakes on any potential loan signing.
football.london understands that the main focus of the Blues board was all on securing a new wing-back to cover for the injuries that have hampered the squad this term, but the Emerson Palmieri struggles coupled with Reece James' injury update means that with just under five days to go, the likelihood of seeing any Stamford Bridge arrivals this month look very slim.
Alternatively, with a transfer to west London now looking highly unlikely until the summer at the very latest, a potential U-turn could be performed from his agent who was recently spotted on a call with PSG's Leonardo on the famous El Chiringuito show.
According Sport.es, Moussa Sissoko (his agent) and Dembele himself both met with the club this week and emphasised his desire to stay with the Spanish giants and his commitment to the club.
It has yet to be seen whether Barca have accepted this demand, considering their willingness to cut ties with a player who isn't committed to the project at hand, therefore this could still force the duo to seek out opportunities elsewhere.
And local journalist Shay Lugassi of the Barca Times has provided the latest on this ever-changing situation which sums up the frenetic nature of any transfer window.
He has tweeted out on his social media account: "Ousmane Dembele's agent is now talking to several clubs from PL regarding the player's transfer in January. Critical days."
So if not Chelsea, then who?
Could Spurs now make a late move for the Les Bleus international, considering Adama Traore seems Barcelona bound?
Will Arsenal now make their first move of the month for a player who has been linked to the Gunners on many occasions in the past?
On the other side of the spectrum, could Jurgen Klopp maybe unlock a player who made his name in Germany or will Newcastle's crazy money spend continue in the last few days with a Dembele acquisition?
Well, as Sissoko's hint on the Spanish television showed, PSG director Leonardo is weighing up a deal to help strengthen their Ligue 1 title bid and the 24-year-old could be the seen as the ideal option at a cut price fee to bring in to the high quality attacking armoury at the Parc des Princes.
