Manchester United transfer news: Red Devils pursuing Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele

Manchester United continue to monitor Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele as he enters the final year of his contract.

According to Sport, Barca are keen to extend his stay at the club but are wary of Man United’s longstanding interest.

Dembele has recovered from injury problems and uncertain form to play an important role in a string of impressive results that has moved Ronald Koeman’s side to within four points of table-topping Atletico Madrid.

The 23-year-old has two goals in his last four games in La Liga, which contributed to wins over Sevilla and Real Sociedad.

Comfortable playing on either flank, or through the middle, Dembele recently earned a recall to the France squad for the first time since 2018.

After coming off the bench against Ukraine, he then started away to Kazakhstan, scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win to kickstart his country’s World Cup qualifying campaign.

Dembele was part of the squad that lifted the trophy three years ago, starting two of France’s group games before reverting to a place on the bench.

Lack of consistency is the only question mark hanging over the supremely talented attacker, who burst onto the scene when scoring 12 goals in his debut season for Rennes.

A move to Borussia Dortmund followed in May 2016, and just over a year later Barcelona pounced with an offer of €105million, plus a reported €40million in add-ons.

The pressure and scrutiny of life at the Nou Camp have been a lot for Dembele to deal with at a young age, and his progress was also hindered by a couple of hamstring injuries, which limited him to just nine appearances last season.

But Barcelona are encouraged by his recent showings and want to extend his contract, which runs out next summer.

Man United have previously attempted to take Dembele on loan and remain in contact with his agent as they weigh up the possibility of a permanent move when the transfer window reopens.