Barcelona are interested in Borussia Dortmund star, claims teammate

Samuel Umtiti has revealed Barcelona are interested in signing his French national teammate Ousmane Dembele.

Barcelona have been tentatively linked with a move for the 20-year-old since his moved to Dortmund last summer as Ernesto Valverde look to revitalise their squad this summer.

Dembele is widely regarded as one of the best young player on the continent after enjoying a sensational debut campaign for the Bundesliga giants and Umtiti has ramped up speculation linking Barcelona with a move for the versatile forward.

“Ousmane and I make a lot of fun out of each other, and I know the club is interested in his profile,” Umtiti told L’Equipe, via Football Espana.

“Of course, all the parties need to come to an agreement, but Ousmane would do us the world of good with his qualities.

“If he comes, I’ll welcome him with open arms. If he wants, I’ll take him in, he’ll sleep at my place and I’ll take care of him!”

Given Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez are still at the peak of their powers it is hard to see where Dembele fits in to the jigsaw at Barcelona, while first-team football is guaranteed at Dortmund.

In his first season at the club, Dembele finished having played a direct hand in 26 goals (8 goals, 18 assists) spread across league and Champions League action.

He also seemed to strike up an instant understanding with Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. In fact, the combination of Dembele to Aubameyang was the most prolific assist-to-goalscorer partnership in Europe’s top five leagues last season (10 goals).

For more stats on Ousmane Dembele, click here to visit his WhoScored player page