Arsenal target Ousmane Dembele ‘concerning Barcelona with company he keeps’… but is his Nou Camp career nearly over?
The French ace has been trouble from the off since his multi-million pound move from Borussia Dortmund and the Catalan top brass have had enough
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BARCELONA have reached breaking point with Arsenal target Ousmane Dembele - with the French ace seriously concerning the Catalan giants 'with the company he keeps', according to reports.
The former BVB man, who moved to Barcelona for an initial £97million fee in 2017, has had a turbulent time during his short spell with the Spanish champions.
He was dropped for their Champions League clash against Inter Milan for arriving 20 minutes late and was most recently left-out by Ernesto Valverde for failing to turn-up to training and claiming illness.
And although there have been glimpses of his quality at times, with a healthy return of six goals and two assists this season - the Spaniard has just about had enough with the forward.
But it's not his quality that is concerning the Blaugrana the most - it is the company the French whizz-kid is keeping.
According to Spanish outlet , Dembele has a group of 'PlayStation' friends he spends every minute with outside football.
reported that on the morning he claimed illness, his phone was switched off before a member of the Barca medical team finally located him in his home at around midday.
The medic reportedly saw multiple youngsters asleep in the house before examining the condition of the 20-year-old - where no illness was apparent.
And it now seems they have identified the issue with the French starlets attitude as his social circle.
Barca now have two choices - to try and change his lifestyle to source his talent or to offload him to one of the many interested parties.
SunSport reported that Arsenal are confident in arranging a deal due to Sven Mislintat's existing relationship with the Frenchman.
While Jurgen Klopp is ready to splash a club-record £85million in January on the misfit.
Despite the apparent unrest, Barca general manager Pep Segura recently said there is no issue with the tricky winger.
Five potential Dembele replacements
- Neymar - the Brazilian ace is reportedly weighing up a move back to the Nou Camp after Mbappe has taken centre-stage in Paris
- Eden Hazard - the explosive Belgian has yet to sign a new deal at Stamford Bridge
- Anthony Martial - Red Devil hasn't signed a new Old Trafford deal either
- Memphis Depay - flying Dutchman has been tearing it up for club and country this season
- Paulo Dybala - Argentine wonderkid's limelight has been taken since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo
He told : "There is no problem with Dembele. He is very young and has never had to make an effort like the one he is doing now to adapt to Barca's game.
"‘We recognise that it is hard for him and he also recognises it, but we’re working to change this situation as quickly as possible."
