Barcelona President Joan Laporta has revealed that the club hopes that French winger Ousmane Dembele stays at the club beyond the summer.

Dembele has been one of the few players who were reported to be close to an exit from the Camp Nou, especially in the January transfer window.

However, he couldn’t secure a transfer away from the team and has since been reconsidered by Barcelona manager Xavi who called on the winger in their 4-0 win against Athletic Club.

The former Dortmund player was a second-half substitute and was able to find the target in the 74th minute of the game despite playing just 24 minutes of the game.

Laporta has now revealed that the club has offered Dembele a new contract with the hope that he stays at the club while also revealing that the club hopes to see more from Spanish youngster Pedri can do more than what he is doing at the moment.

“Dembélé knows our offer, and we have always wanted for him to stay, we hope that in the end, he thinks about it again,” Laporta said.

On Pedri Laporta described him as one of the best players in the World at the moment.

“Pedri is called to be one of the best players in the world, if not the best, but he knows he has to work a lot,” Laporta said.

Barcelona had a massive recruitment for their team during the January transfer window, adding the likes of Adama Traore from Wolves and Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the side.

This does reduce the chances of Ousmane Dembele frequently featuring for the Camp Nou club with players like Martin Braithwaite and Memphis Depay still in the squad.

Barcelona have won their last three matches in all competitions, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring five goals in three games. Barcelona defeated Napoli to move into the quarter-finals of the Europa League. They also defeated Athletic Bilbao and Valencia in the La Liga.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu