BVB reject Dembele move

The 20-year-old skipped training on Thursday amid reports he has agreed to join the Catalan side, but their bid has been knocked back.

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that they have rejected an offer from Barcelona for Ousmane Dembele according to goal

Barca have long been linked with a move for the 20-year-old winger, but have acted on their interest after selling Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million, with some reports stating Dembele has already agreed to the move.

Although the German side's sporting director, Michael Zorc, insisted no deal has been struck, speculation increased on Thursday when coach Peter Bosz revealed Dembele missed training and that the club could not contact him.

Shortly afterwards, an announcement was released revealing that negotiations had taken place, but a deal is "not currently likely".

"Borussia Dortmund has held talks with the Catalan football club FC Barcelona regarding the possible transfer of the BVB player Ousmane Dembele to FC Barcelona.

"During this meeting, the representatives of FC Barcelona submitted a bid which did not match the player's extraordinary footballing ability or value to the club, nor the present economic market situation of the European transfer market. BVB therefore rejected this offer.

"As there is no other offer from FC Barcelona to date, there is currently no transfer of the player to FC Barcelona and this is not currently likely."

The Bundesliga club have insisted it will take a bid of over €100 million to sign the France international, who has scored 10 goals in 50 games for the club since joining from Rennes for €15m July in 2016.

The Bundesliga Rookie of the Season for 2016-17 revealed in June that Barca had made contact with him before.

He told Mundo Deportivo: "Last I had contact with the Barcelona sports director.

"I'm good at Dortmund. I have a contract until 2021. I don't pay attention to what is said."