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Paris Saint-Germain hopeful of signing both Ousmane Dembélé and Ansu Fati from Barcelona
With the future of Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappé up in the air, PSG are looking to raid the LaLiga champions.
Paris Saint-Germain show no signs of stepping aside from their role as the main player in the summer transfer window, especially as far as Barcelona are concerned. While the Kylian Mbappé transfer saga rumbles on, the LaLiga champions have seen backup goalkeeper Arnau Tenas complete a free transfer to the Parc des Princes, while Ousmane Dembélé also looks to be on the verge of moving back to France. Now, the team coached by former Barça boss Luis Enrique want Ansu Fati to join them.
No role for Ansu Fati in Xavi’s Barcelona
The Parisians are preparing to make a bid for the Spanish international, who Luis Enrique both admires and trusts, as shown during his spell as manager of La Roja. By contrast, Xavi is struggling to find a role for him in Barcelona, where he has been more of an impact player off the bench in recent times rather than a starter. That is unlikely to change even if Dembélé leaves, especially now that the Barça boss seems to favour a midfield four with only two forwards.
Fati has always been adamant that he would stay and fight for his place, such is his determination to succeed at the club. The winger smashed a series of records after breaking onto the first-team scene as a 16-year-old, but his future in Catalonia could be cut short due to other factors outwith the fact Xavi is not 100% convinced by him.
Why do Barcelona want to sell Ansu Fati?
As has been well documented, La Blaugrana are not in great shape financially. As things stand, they have only 13 players registered to play in LaLiga (including Dembélé and Franck Kessié, who also has a foot-and-a-half out the door. With the sale of a percentage of Barça Studies (one of Barcelona’s famous “economic levers”) having fallen through, the club must find a way to get money through the door quickly, which could lead to some players being reluctantly moved on. Allowing Fati, an academy product, to leave would ease the financial pressure considerably.
Fati’s relationship with Dembélé could be key to PSG move
Additionally, agent Jorge Mendes, who represents the player, has been trying to orchestrate a move for his client for months, with several Premier League clubs informed of his availability, despite Fati’s hesitance about leaving.
However, Fati’s close relationship with Dembéle means Paris Saint-Germain stand a realistic chance of signing both players. On Barça’s pre-season tour of the United States, substitute Fati scored the winning goal against AC Milan and ran over the touchline to dedciate his goal to the Frenchman. Will we see more such celebrations in a PSG jersey?