Newcastle transfer news: Magpies 'interested' in Dembele, he was once valued at £108m

Journalist Ryan Taylor has confirmed that there is interest from Newcastle United in signing Ousmane Dembele, but says they always planned to move for him in the summer rather than in January.

The Barcelona star was at the centre of a transfer saga in the January window but did not end up finding himself a new club.

He has been heavily linked with an exit from Barcelona, as the Catalan club look to cut costs.

Spanish newspaper Marca reported earlier this week that club president Joan Laporta believes that the Frenchman’s career at the club is over.

He spoke to the press, and actually said that it “would be very difficult” for Dembele to find his way back into Xavi’s team at Camp Nou.

That perhaps goes a long way to explaining why Barcelona swooped to sign Adama Traore from under the noses of Tottenham Hotspur in January, bringing the Spaniard in from Wolves as a potential replacement, while they have also secured Ferran Torres from Manchester City.

Xavi is actually said to believe that there is a spot in his team for Dembele, but he now looks almost certain to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Newcastle were linked with a big-money move to sign the former Borussia Dortmund ace at the turn of the year, and it seems that interest has been maintained.

Indeed, The Daily Mail even claimed that Newcastle had tabled an offer to sign Dembele, who once cost Barcelona £135m and has previously been valued at £108m by Transfermarkt, on a pre-contract deal.

And Crook has now backed up those claims with his own update.

He told GiveMeSport: “There is interest from Newcastle in Dembele, looking towards that summer transfer on a free when his contract expires.”

Dembele would be a really excellent addition to