Barcelona face difficulties in off-loading Ousmane Dembele as the pursuit for Miralem Pjanic stalls 

Ever since his arrival in Spain, Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele has struggled to find his form, which is why he has been strongly linked with a move away from the Catalunya club in recent reports. However, his agent spoke recently in with the french newspaper L'Équipe du Soir, cleared any rumours surrounding Dembele's future at Barcelona.

Annoncé dans @lequipedusoir : selon l’agent d’Ousmane #Dembélé, un départ du FC Barcelone n’est pas envisagé. La Juventus l’a bien courtisé.

— Bertrand Latour (@LatourBertrand) June 3, 2020

"A departure from FC Barcelona is not envisaged. Juventus wooed him well."

Dembele is the second Barcelona player to be strongly linked with a move to Juventus as part of a complicated operation to bring Miralem Pjanic to Camp Nou. However, after hearing to his agent speak, it now appears as though the Frenchmen will be following in the footsteps of his teammate Arthur Melo and decline a move to Italy.

Miralem Pjanic has been on Barcelona's target for a while now

Talks between Barcelona and Juventus over a possible trade deal continue as both parties have agreed that Miralem Pjanic will join the Catalans this summer. The only issue that remains is a player going the other way with Arthur having already have refused a move to Italy. The other candidate that Barcelona are considering at the moment is Nelson Semedo.

Juventus show interest in Ousmane Dembele as struggles at Barcelona continue

FC Barcelona and Juventus are still negotiating. The Italian side now want to sign Dembélé on loan with a purchase option, after learning the signing of Arthur is impossible. [md] pic.twitter.com/pVPqwaY9Fk

— barcacentre (from 🏡) (@barcacentre) May 29, 2020

Currently Juventus want to loan the Frenchman with an option to buy after one season. That way, the Bianconeri can get a better picture of Dembele's health. With the 23-year-olds contract expiring in 2022, Juvetus are hoping to sign the french winger in favorable conditions next summer as they do not want to spend a hefty amount on a player, whose career has been a constant battle with injuries.

If Dembele does go out on a loan deal, he will become the second €100 million Barcelona player to have done so, following in the footsteps of Phillip Coutinho. The Brazilian play maker was purchased from Liverpool at the whopping price of €145 million, however he currently finds himself on load at Bayern Munich, a deal which is expected to expertise this summer.

Ousmane's transfer to Barcelona from Dortmund hasn't produced results for the Spanish giants.

Barcelona signed the French World Cup winner for €125 million from Borussia Dortmund in 2017. But injuries and lack of discipline have hampered Dembele's career in Catalunya. Despite the many issues, Juventus are interested in including Dembele in a possible trade deal.

Ever since he arrived at Barcelona, Dembele has been under a lot of criticism for his discipline at team training sessions as well as his mindset as a player. The Frenchman has missed the majority of the La Liga season so far, having played just 5 league games this campaign due to a hamstring injury.

Dembele has yet to consolidate his place at Barcelona

Apart from 5 appearances in the La Liga, Dembele has also played 4 matches in the UEFA Champions League this season. Apart from struggling to make regular appearances, the Frenchman has also struggled in front of the goal, scoring just once in all of 2019-20 season. He also unfortunately was a recipient of a red card, when Barcelona took on SD Eibar.

With the La Liga set to resume in just a few days, Ousmane Dembele might get a last chance to prove himself at Barcelona, otherwise he could very well be shipped out on loan in order to bring in another player at Camp Nou. The Blaugrana's are currently sitting at the top of the table with a two-point difference over arch-rivals Real Madrid.