Dani Alves trying to convince forward to extend Barcelona deal after Xavi praise

Dani Alves is the latest to join the bandwagon of Barcelona players who are trying to convince Ousmane Dembele to remain at the club and realise his full potential. The Frenchman currently has seven months remaining on his deal and is yet to commit his long-term future to the Catalan club.

Barcelona have been trying to convince Dembele to sign a new long-term deal since the summer, but are yet to get a response from the player and his representatives. The 2018 World Cup winner, who recently returned from a long-term injury, can sign a pre-contract with a club outside Spain when the winter transfer window opens in January.

The 24-year-old winger will not be short of suitors with the likes of Liverpool, Juventus and Manchester United all monitoring the situation. Dembele is likely to be offered lucrative wage and signing bonus packages to run his contract down and leave Barcelona on a free transfer next June.

However, he is yet to make a decision and continues to assess all the options on the table. Ronald Koeman was the first to sing praises of the speedy winger prior to his sacking, and it was followed up by his successor Xavi Hernandez immediately after his arrival to the Camp Nou.

Alves, who recently returned to the club on a short-term deal, is the latest to laud the French forward. The Brazilian has implored Dembele to realise the opportunity in front of him and show his true potential in a Barcelona jersey.

"I think Dembele is an exceptional player, he needs to understand he's playing for Barca, that he's very good. My mission is to remind him that he's really good, he's phenomenal, that he could do a lot of good things at this club," Alves said, as quoted on Barca Blaugranes.

Dembele has played just 25 minutes of football for Barcelona this season having suffered a knee injury while with France at this summer's European Championship. He is expected to return to the playing squad when the La Liga season resumes this weekend, with Xavi's first assignment coming against Catalan rivals Espanyol.