Chelsea have closed in on a deal to bring Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele to the club on a free transfer this summer, according to a report.
Speculation around the Frenchman's future has been rumbling on for around 12 months, with a contract extension at the Camp Nou yet to be agreed between the Catalan side and the player.
The 25-year-old was linked with a host of top clubs in the January transfer window, as well as current links with a move to the likes of Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain over the coming weeks.
However, Mundo Deportivo are reporting that Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea are edging closer to completing a deal for Dembele ahead of the expiration of his contract with Barcelona in June.
The sale of Chelsea to Todd Boehly's consortium edges closer following approval from both the Premier League and the UK government, meaning Tuchel has been able to press ahead with his preparations for the upcoming transfer window.
Should a move for Dembele go through, it would see the winger and Tuchel reunited, after the pair worked together during their time at Borussia Dortmund in the 2016-17 campaign.
Dembele was then sold to Barcelona for a fee that could rise up to around €145m (£123.2m), where he has scored 32 goals in 150 appearances during an injury-disrupted five-year stay so far.
Matthew Tranter
