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Ousmane Dembele's performances have earned him consideration for a contract extension from Barcelona, and his manager, Xavi Hernandez, is all for it.
Ousmane Dembele has been playing at another level since the arrival of Xavi Hernandez. Barcelona are reportedly evaluating offering a contract extension to Dembele, and the manager has come out to say he would like him to stay at the club for many more years.
After contract disputes with the club, in which they threatened to send him to the stands, the 25-year-old signed a two-year contract extension in the summer of 2022. His stature in the team has since changed, and the club are now looking to further intertwine his future with theirs.
Xavi wants Dembele to continue
The Spanish manager was speaking in the pre-game press conference for Barcelona’s LaLiga fixture against Girona when he was asked about Dembele’s future at the club.
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"For me, he is important, you know that,” Xavi said at the press conference, per Marca.
“He is fundamental, very differentiating in the team. It is difficult to find this type of footballer who is so decisive one-on-one.”
The Barcelona manager went on to discuss how the club views Dembele after emphasizing his importance to the team. He made sure to express his wish for Dembele’s continuity with the team, as he views him as a special talent.
‘The club knows it and he knows it. That has generated a confidence in him that It makes him be at the level he is. I hope he continues with us for many years."
Dembele turned his Barcelona career around
Barcelona shelled out a crippling €140 million fee for Dembele in the summer of 2017, hoping he would herald a new age of excellence at Camp Nou alongside Messi, but injuries and inconsistencies on the part of the player proved it to be a bad investment.
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The French World Cup winner reached a point ahead of the summer of 2022 where it looked like his journey at the club was over, and Barcelona prepared to cut their losses, tried unsuccessfully to ship him off until he ran down his contract.
The influence of Xavi, among other factors, saw him sign a new short-term contract with the club until 2024.
Dembele's fortunes at the club have improved, and he has developed into the player the club hoped to invest in when they signed him.
Xavi has had a hand in Dembele's turnaround, as 30 of his 81 goal involvements in his Barcelona career have come under Xavi, accounting for approximately 37% of his goal involvement at the club, with a manager with whom he has only spent a little more than a year of his six years at the club.
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