Breaking: Betting suspended on Dortmund ace heading to Barcelona
Published:
One of the summer’s most high-profile transfer sagas now looks certain to be completed, with Borussia Dortmund prodigy Ousmane Dembele on his way to Barcelona.
The Frenchman bailed on training with BvB today, in what appears to be the final confirmation of his exit to Catalonia.
Following that, our odds-crunchers suspend betting on the 20-year-old swapping Dortmund for Barca, with a move to the Nou Camp having previously been priced up at 4/11.
That’s despite his current club rejecting a bid believed to be in the region of €150m. With a deal still expected very soon, whatever figure the La Liga giants do pay will surely make the £13.5m he cost BvB from Rennes last summer look like an absolute steal.
Dembele chalked up 10 goals and 21 assists in 49 games for the Bundesliga side last term, including grabbing the opener in the DFB Pokal Final as Die Schwarzgelben beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1.
It’s a huge sum for a player so young, but the deal represents a serious statement of intent from Barca, having begrudgingly lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer.
Callum Bunce of Ladbrokes said: “Dembele couldn’t have made his intentions any clearer with his recent actions, and the money suggests it’s surely only a matter of time before the club let go of their prized asset.”
Barcelona host Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday, with odds of 10/11 for Blaugrana to come out on top after 90 minutes.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
