Spanish journalist Jose Alvarez has broken the reports of a possible swap deal involving Barcelona and Manchester United.
Speaking to El Chiringuito TV, Alvarez claimed that Barcelona are ready to offer Ousmane Dembele to United in exchange for Anthony Martial.
Both Dembele and Martial are out of favour at their respective clubs
Dembele joined Barcelona in 2017 for an initial fee of £97 million plus £38m in add-ons.
He was expected to replace Neymar, who left for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) earlier that summer.
However, despite being immensely talented, Dembele has failed to impress at Barcelona.
The French winger’s Barcelona career has been plagued with injuries, many of which have occurred due to his casual approach to his profession.
He has made 129 appearances for the Catalan giants, registering 31 goals and 23 assists.
Dembele is now in the final year of his contract, and the club want to salvage as much money as possible from his exit.
United shelled out £36m in 2015 to sign Martial.
He made an impressive start to his Red Devils career, but things have gone downhill.
Martial’s lack of work rate and desire to develop his overall game has seen him drop down the pecking order at Old Trafford.
His latest fall-out with head coach Ralf Rangnick will further impact his falling stock at Manchester.
Good deal for both parties?
Barcelona have hit a wall with Dembele.
Despite his poor performances, the club attempted to agree an extension earlier this season.
However, the player’s wage demands left Barcelona surprised.
With his exit in the summer all but sure now, Barcelona are trying their best to squeeze something positive from this situation.
Attempting to offload Dembele by bringing in a new striker in Martial for free may prove to be a smart move.
United face different but equally difficult problems with Martial.
The player and his agent has made it clear that Martial wants to leave the club.
United are unlikely to find too many suitors for their French forward.
Allowing him to leave for Barcelona and getting Dembele could turn out to be a good piece of business for the Red Devils.
Despite his poor form, Dembele is a talented winger.
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