Real Madrid may find themselves directly benefitting from the proposed deal to take Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.
Their main rivals look set to lose the 26-year-old in a shock deal, after PSG activated his release clause, and this could mean that Dembele replaces his France teammate Kylian Mbappe in Paris.
This could help facilitate a sale of the attacker this summer, and with one year remaining on his deal, the 24-year-old wants to join Real Madrid and PSG want to complete a sale this summer.
Fabrizio Romano has reported that Dembele has agreed a five-year deal at PSG, and he could end up being the direct replacement for Mbappe.
Although a winger rather than a centre-forward, Dembele could form a front line with Neymar and former Real Madrid star Marco Asensio, with the two signings replacing Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
What’s the latest on Real Madrid and Mbappe?
With Los Blancos currently in a strong financial position, they have now reportedly set the maximum price they would be willing to pay for Mbappe at £196m this summer.
The feeling at PSG is that Mbappe has already agreed to join Real Madrid next summer, and therefore selling him now would gain a transfer fee before they lose him for free.
Karim Benzema’s departure may speed up Real Madrid’s pursuit of Mbappe, and with a replacement already at PSG, a sale now looks to be the likeliest scenario this summer.
This deal may take a long time to complete, given the complicated negotiations between Mbappe, Real Madrid and PSG, and there may not be much movement until a later point in the window, but this summer could end with Barcelona substantially weakened and Real Madrid strengthened as a result of PSG’s business.