Barcelona quietly confident forward will sign as club deadline nears

Barcelona are stepping up their efforts to convince Ousmane Dembele to sign a new deal with the club before the upcoming January transfer window. The club hierarchy are quietly confident that they can reach an agreement, but are aware of the interest from clubs outside Spain and their ability to pay exorbitant wages.

The Catalan club have been in talks with Dembele and his representatives for a number of weeks, but have failed to make a breakthrough thus far. The French winger has just over six months remaining on his contract and will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs outside Spain when the winter transfer window gets underway in January.

According to Catalan journalist Gerard Romero, the La Liga giants feel that Dembele will remain at the Camp Nou beyond the summer of 2022. They are expected to step up talks in the coming days, as they want a definitive answer before the end of the year.

Xavi Hernandez has made it clear that he wants Dembele to stay at Barcelona, while club president Joan Laporta also urged the France international to realise his true potential with club and become a "franchise player".

Dembele is also keen to remain in the Catalan capital, but his agent feels his client can earn big money if he departs Barcelona on a free transfer. The Catalan club's financial troubles have seen them request the former Borussia Dortmund winger to take a pay cut, but have offered him huge incentives via performance bonuses that could make him the highest earner in the team.

Barcelona's latest offer has seen them accept the winger's wishes to potentially sign a short-term deal with a view to negotiate a long-term contract one year down the line. The salary is likely to be the main obstacle standing in the way of Dembele and Barcelona reaching an agreement in the coming weeks.

The France international's situation has attracted interest from clubs across Europe with ESPN reporting that Chelsea, Manchester United and Juventus are waiting in the wings to pounce if he decides to leave Barcelona. Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be interested and could enter the race, especially if they lose Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid.