Barcelona continues its hunt to replace Neymar, and a popular suggestion has been Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele. The 20-year-old impressed mightily in Bundesliga last season with his superior dribbling skills and creativity.
However, with clubs totally aware of the $240 million burning away in Barcelona’s pocket and big shoes to fill, those on the other side will look to extract as much money as possible from the Catalan giants.
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Speaking to Eurosport during the festivities around the German Supercup, Dortmund president Hans-Joachim Watzke said that even if a club banks a record amount of cash for a single player, it doesn’t always make them better.
“I remember Kevin de Bruyne, he was the Bundesliga’s record transfer,” Watzke said. “When you see the years after, it was not the best transfer though as the team lost lots of quality.” Wolfsburg sold De Bruyne to Manchester City for $71 million two seasons ago, and they promptly dumped down the Bundesliga table, narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
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When asked what he would do if a club offered over $100 million, Watzke said, “I think this is not enough, whether it is Auba (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang), or Ousmane Dembélé.”
“I think we’ve made clear that he will stay with us,” Watzke added. “When we said that, the media wrote that he’ll leave in January. No, he will definitely stay.”
