Barcelona Set 2-Week Deadline For $131M Star To Decide Future Amid Manchester United, Liverpool Links

FC Barcelona have reportedly set a fierce two-week deadline for Ousmane Dembele to decide his Camp Nou future.

Dembele, who just has six months left on his current deal with Barcelona, has not signed an extension yet and will be free to negotiate with other clubs from Jan. 1. The club officials have asked the Frenchman to make a final call by Dec. 15. It is Dembele's agent who is slowing down the contract talks, which has frustrated Barcelona further, reported Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo.

Apart from Manchester United and Newcastle, a third Premier League side is monitoring Dembele's contract situation – Liverpool FC, according to soccer website Teamtalk.

It is reported that Dembele's agent, Moussa Sissoko, has been purposely delaying contract talks by asking for clarification about Dembele's role at the club and the Catalans suspect the former is looking to offer his client to the highest bidder.

It was earlier reported that Barcelona had accused Dembele of opening talks with a few Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, behind their backs.

When Xavi Hernandez took over Barcelona as their new head coach last month, one of the topics that he had discussed in his first press conference was Dembele's contract extension.

The France national moved from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona at $131 million ahead of the 2017-18 season. However, Dembele has since struggled to live up to the price tag, mostly because of his injuries that have ruined his journey so far at Camp Nou.

Dembele is still just 24 and former Al-Sadd boss Xavi believes the player is still capable of big things and wants to help him rediscover his form.

Dortmund missed the initial part of Barcelona's 2021-22 campaign with a knee injury. He made his first appearance of the season at the beginning of November but he suffered another setback in the form of a hamstring issue immediately after that. That saw the French player miss another two games.

Dembele, who came off the bench in Barcelona's previous two fixtures, has so far played only three competitive matches for Barcelona this season and is yet to go on the scoring sheet.