Chelsea 'Favorites' To Land Ousmane Dembele

 Barcelona giving up a significant lead has given Chelsea a big boost in their pursuit of acquiring Ousmane Dembele this summer. This season, the 25-year-old has had a lot of interest from Stamford Bridge, where Thomas Tuchel apparently wants to reconcile with his former teammate.

Dembele's contract at the Camp Nou expires at the end of the month, and the Blues are seen to be the front-runners to sign him. Barcelona reportedly wanted to keep the France international, but the Spanish superpowers couldn't come to terms on a new contract.

According to journalist Sique Rodriguez Gairi from Spanish radio network La Cadena SER, Dembele turned down Barcelona's initial offer. According to reports, Xavi's team has subsequently extended a new contract to the winger in an effort to stave off interest from Chelsea and other potential bidders.

The Spanish juggernauts could, however, withdraw their offer if negotiations over a new contract fail to progress. Barcelona is also thought to have gotten impatient with how the conversations were going.

Mundo Deportivo, a Spanish news source, reports that Blaugrana are thinking about retracting their most recent contract offer to Dembele. The story also states that senior executives at Camp Nou are worried about their reputation amid these negotiations, given the club's well-known financial difficulties.