Transfer rumor: Barcelona pursuing Ousmane Dembele

With Neymar leaving Barcelona in favor of PSG, Barcelona are in pursuit of another creative force. While they play totally different styles, Barcelona are reportedly in pursuit of Dortmund midfielder Ousmane Dembele.

Barcelona look set to spend the money they made from the Neymar transfer. Reports are surfacing that they are looking into securing the services of versatile 20-year-old midfielder Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund.

While Dortmund have seemed willing to negotiate with Barcelona, their current asking price is said to be set at $130 million for the 20-year-old.

While this is obviously a steep price, it is a product of the market of soccer today.

Dembele burst onto the Bundesliga scene last year, proving to be a vital part of the Dortmund squad. In 32 matches for Dortmund in the league (including 10 off the bench), Dembele was impressive in almost every facet of the game.

Dembele had six goals and 12 assists in the 32 appearances. His 12 assists in the league were twice as many as anyone else, with Christian Pulisic, Gonzalo Castro and Shinji Kagawa all having six, respectively. His six goals on the season were also good for a third-place tie on the squad, trailing only Marco Reus (seven) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (31).

Dembele also averaged 1.7 shots per 90 minutes, a number that only trailed Andre Schurrle (2.4), Marco Reus (2.5) and Aubameyang (3.6). These numbers all go to show how important Dembele was to the Dortmund attack, something Barcelona will be hoping he can duplicate if they can secure his services.

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Unsurprisingly, the young French midfielder also averaged the most key passes per 90 for Dortmund, with 2.0 per 90. This was higher than the 1.7 of Kagawa, the 1.5 of Castro, the 1.4 of Reus and the 1.3 of Mario Gotze.

Being compared to, and often exceeding, the play of names like Reus, Gotze and Kagawa is an impressive feat for anyone, let alone a 20-year-old. If Barcelona are willing to bend, this could be a solid signing in trying to fill the void now left from the departure of Neymar.