Jordi Alba urges Barcelona to renew Ousmane Dembele’s contract and insists he’s ‘one of the best in the world’, with club chiefs now open to keeping the in-form winger despite January fallout
- Ousmane Dembele endured a tough January window after a fallout with the club
- The French winger was told to leave if he was not willing to sign a new contract
- But Barcelona vice-president Rafa Yuste has appeared to offer an olive branch
- Dembele’s team-mate Jordi Alba now believes the club should offer a new deal
Jordi Alba has urged Barcelona to renew his team-mate Ousmane Dembele’s contract as tensions reportedly thaw between the Spanish side and the forward.
The 24-year-old has entered the final four months of his contract at the Nou Camp with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season.
Barcelona were said to be pushing to tie Dembele down to a new deal but the winger was pushed towards the exit in January as talks broke down.
Jordi Alba (left) urged Barcelona to renew his team-mate Ousmane Dembele’s (right) contract
The Frenchman found himself frozen out as the Catalan giants told him he had to leave the club if he refused to agree to a new deal.
Dembele was initially ostracised from the first team set up then faced a backlash from supporters who booed him on his return for turning down the club’s contract offer.
But his team-mate Alba believes the LaLiga side should still push to renew Dembele’s contract.
‘Renewing Dembele? I think they should,’ Alba told El Larguero radio show, via Marca.
‘He is one of the best in the world in his position and by some margin. He is motivated and I don’t know what he will do, but here’s hoping he stays.’
Relations are said to have improved between the two parties with Barcelona vice-president Rafa Yuste seemingly offering an olive branch.
The Barcelona outcast was initially ostracised from the first team set up and faced backlash
Nou Camp chiefs are now open to the in-form winger staying at the club this summer
The club’s chiefs are now open to keeping the in-form winger despite their fallout earlier this year.
Yuste told Catalunya Radio: ‘If Ousmane Dembele continues to feel comfortable, we can meet his agents and he could stay.’
His comments were well-received by Dembele’s agent Moussa Sissoko and the door to negotiations appears to have been reopened with the player yet to agree to a deal elsewhere, according to Sport.
Dembele has been in impressive form recently, registering seven assists and one goal in Barcelona’s last five games.
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