BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund’s wunderkind Ousmane Dembele failed to show up for training on Thursday, coach Peter Bosz said, amid speculation the French youngster is poised to join Barcelona as Neymar’s replacement.
“He didn’t come to practice today. We don’t know why. We tried to reach him but we were unable to,” Bosz told reporters at a press conference.
The French international posed for a team photo with Dortmund after Wednesday’s training session, but there was no sign of him on Thursday.
Dembele, who at the age of just 20 is considered one of the top talents in Europe, has been hotly pursued to fill the void left by Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain for a record 222 million euros ($260 million) last week.
According to German tabloid Bild, Dortmund want an eye-watering 150 million euros for their rising star, a price tag Barca has bristled at.
Dembele may now be trying to break the deadlock with his no-show, Bild suggested.
“Dembele really wants to go to Barcelona but yesterday he had to swallow the fact that the two clubs could not agree on a transfer fee,” it wrote. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
