Bayern Munich could replace Kingsley Coman with Ousmane Dembele
By Tom Gott
Bayern Munich are bracing themselves for the possible departure of winger Kingsley Coman in the summer but could consider replacing him with Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele.
Coman is approaching the final 18 months of his contract and is yet to strike an agreement over an extension, with Bayern reluctant to meet his lofty demands.
Should the stalemate continue, Bayern are prepared to offload Coman in the summer before he can walk away for free, and Christian Falk states that Dembele has emerged as a possible replacement.
Bayern have had an eye on Dembele ever since he broke through to the Rennes first team in 2015 and even flew to France to try and negotiate a deal, but eventually missed out on his signature to Borussia Dortmund.
A stellar year at Dortmund earned Dembele a move to Barcelona in 2017, but things haven't gone to plan there and the 24-year-old is now considering leaving on a free transfer when his contract expires in the summer, despite Barcelona's desire to tie him down.
Barcelona gave Dembele an ultimatum earlier this month, demanding an answer on his future by December 15, but the winger asked for more time to make his final decision - something many at Camp Nou have taken as a sign he wants to leave.
If Dembele does hit the market, Bayern are ready to try bring him in for free, and we could have a nice little merry-go-round here as Barcelona boss Xavi is known to be a huge fan of Coman.
Reports in Spain have long named Coman as one of Xavi's dream targets, linking the Frenchman to Camp Nou even before Xavi took control.
Coman may well end up staying at Bayern, but it will all come down to the money on offer. As a regular starter - and goalscorer - under Julian Nagelsmann, the France international wants a salary that reflects that, but Bayern are yet to make that offer.
Fresh terms have been on the table for a while now, and Bayern have never hidden their desire to keep Coman, but an agreement is not thought to be close and now the German champions are considering their options.