Arsenal and Man Utd will only make transfer bid for Dembele after full investigation into Barcelona star’s injury curse
BARCELONA winger Ousmane Dembele is reportedly interesting Manchester United and Arsenal but a bid is being held back by injury concerns.
Several players are expected to be up for grabs from the Camp Nou at the end of the season as Barcelona look to balance their books.
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Despite costing an initial £92million back in 2017, Dembele is said to be among those available for the right fee.
For that price, a return of just 19 goals in 72 games across almost three full seasons has led to the Frenchman being labelled a serious flop.
Nevertheless, at 22 he still holds plenty of potential and Spanish newspaper detail how United and Arsenal are weighing up an offer.
Both clubs are reportedly investigating Dembele's rocky injury history to determine whether it is down to bad luck, Barcelona's mismanagement, or a more deep-rooted problem affecting the player.
Hamstring injuries have become a common problem for the forward and, following surgery, he is expected to miss the rest of the season even though it is to last further into the summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Already during this protracted campaign, he has missed 26 matches because of the one issue which has also affected him in each of his three years in Catalonia.
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Both United and Arsenal are seeking attacking improvements for next season and a loan move, akin to the one that took Philippe Coutinho to Bayern Munich, has not been ruled out by Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Dembele has reportedly contacted France colleague Anthony Martial to understand what life is like in England.
The Red Devils are linked with bids for Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and James Maddison once the market eventually opens, suggesting a big-name attacker is paramount to their plans - a profile which Dembele certainly fits.
Injury problems aside, he notched 10 goals and 22 assists in his single season at Borussia Dortmund that convinced Barcelona to part with a mega fee while he was still a teenager.