23 September 2023 , 19:30
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Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham are keeping a close eye on Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembele ahead of the January transfer window.
The 26-year-old striker was signed by PSG for £50million from Barcelona in the summer but has failed to find his feet with the French champions.
PSG also signed Portuguese centre forward Goncalo Ramos for an initial £63m in the summer while also snatching talented striker Randal Kolo Muani in a £76.4m deadline day deal with Frankfurt. Added to that they signed attacking midfielders Marco Asensio, Bradley Barcola and Kang In Lee in the summer window intensifying competition for forward places after the departure of Lionel Messi to MLS and Neymar to Saudi Arabia.
Dembele, who scored 40 goals in 119 games for Barcelona, has played in all of PSG’s last five matches but has so far failed to find the net sparking calls for him to be dropped
It is unlikely that PSG would be willing to sanction a move so early in his career in France and Enrique has publicly backed the forward however, insisting is confident he will quickly find his scoring boots.
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“If I were a supporter of a team, I would pay to see Ousmane Dembele," Enrique said in midweek. “He’s a totally different player. He is unpredictable, overflows, [and] works magic.
“It’s true that he may have missed things and didn’t score his first goal, but the day that happens, I’m sure he’ll score a lot later. This happens to all attackers. It’s wonderful for a coach to have a player of this quality and level available.”
PSG boss Luis Enrique would have to sign off on any exit for Dembele next yearArsenal have made a strong start to the season along with Tottenham and have both been linked with Dembele before. The Gunners strengthened significantly during the summer, signing Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and David Raya, However, they failed to land a forward player that could take the burden off either Bukayo Saka or Gabriel Martinelli.
As for Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou signed Brennan Johnson in the final hours of the summer window, but there is still a need for more reinforcements after Harry Kane's departure. West Ham are also on the lookout for more firepower in January with Hammers boss David Moyes keen to bolster his attack.