Ousmane Dembele ‘will miss Barcelona’s first pre-season training and medical tests after failing to meet the club’s Sunday night deadline to accept their latest offer’ – but the Catalan giants remain ‘hopeful they can agree a deal in the coming days’
- The Barcelona squad will report for medical testing on Monday morning
- Xavi will hold his first pre-season training later in the day at 7pm (6pm BST)
- Ousmane Dembele was given until Sunday at 8pm BST to accept a new deal
- After missing the deadline, the Frenchman could not be included on Monday
Ousmane Dembele will miss Barcelona‘s first pre-season training and medical testing on Monday after refusing the club’s latest offer and failing to sign a new contract.
The Frenchman became available as a free agent when his contract expired on July 1 after failing to reach an agreement with the Catalan giants over a contract extension despite months of talks.
The forward was given a deadline of 9pm (8pm BST) on Sunday to accept the Spanish club’s latest offer ahead of the players’ return to training following their summer break on Monday, according to AS.
Ousmane Dembele will miss Barcelona’s first pre-season training after missing club’s deadline
The Barcelona squad will report to Ciutat Esportiva on Monday morning for medical tests, however, Dembele will not be among them.
After he failed to meet the club’s deadline, Barcelona were able to include him in the list of players to undergo the testing .
His absence from the tests in the morning also rules him out of the squad’s first pre-season training later on Monday at 7pm (6pm BST).
The squad will report to training on Monday morning but the Frenchman will not be with them
However, despite this stumbling block, Barcelona are said to hope that the situation will be resolved in the coming days so that manager Xavi knows whether he can count on Dembele or not in order to start planning for the coming season.
There is reportedly ‘good harmony’ in the player’s camp to look to get a deal done, while there has been more contact with the club over the past week.
A meeting between the France international’s agent Moussa Sissoko and the club last Monday had failed to bring a solution despite coach Xavi pushing for an agreement.
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