It is no coincidence that the most successful football clubs are the richest ones.
The road to success is usually a long and tortuous one, but money is a shortcut to achieving it.
The takeover of Newcastle has raised expectations, with many counting down the days to the clubs' first trophy. The new owners are ambitious and quickly want to sit at the table of champions. They want to emulate the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and PSG.
Newcastle is in the process of transition and is on a quest to get the players to help it achieve its goals. With the club currently enmeshed in relegation battles, the chances of attracting the games' best will be an uphill task, even with a truck-load of cash.
However, Newcastle remain undaunted by the task before it and have set sights on Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.
Newcastle to tempt Dembele
Ousmane Dembele joined Barcelona in August 2017 for a fee of €105 million, plus a reported €40 million add-ons. He joined the Catalan club on the back of impressive performances at Borussia Dortmund.
The Frenchman's contract runs out next summer, and cash strapped Barcelona will look to cash in on him before his contract expires. Newcastle could capitalize on his contract situation and make an audacious move for the World Cup winner. The two parties have allegedly been in contact with one another.
Dembele is one of the players that Newcastle hope to bring in to help in its quest to challenge for honours rather than fending off relegation. While a Newcastle approach could be difficult to resist, Barcelona hopes the 24-year-old will renew his contract to remain at the club.
According to Spanish publication Sport, Dembele's agent is already speaking with Newcastle and could now ask the Catalan side to sanction a move to the Premier League side.
Dembele and Barcelona: a relationship that did not work
The expectations for Dembele upon his arrival at Catalonia was high, but it is safe to say that the Frenchman did not deliver on the promise he held. A barrage of injuries limited his performance for Barcelona.
Dembele has appeared in the colours of La Blaugrana 219 times across all competitions and scored 65 goals. He has yet to play this season after a knee operation in the summer following a recurring hamstring issue he has been battling.
Dembele has been given the go-ahead to return to action and is likely to turn out for Koeman's side on Wednesday when Barcelona take on Rayo Vallecano.
Newcastle are swimming dangerously close to relegation waters. Aside from getting quality players to help them climb the table, there is the small matter of getting a new coach following the sacking of Steve Bruce.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
