Borussia Dortmund give Barcelona Ousmane Dembele deadline
Barcelona have been given a two week deadline to sign Borussia Dortmund star Ousmane Dembele.
The striker has been earmarked as a replacement for Neymar but Ernesto Valverde's side are yet to agree on a deal.
Dortmund are keen to ensure the saga does not rumble on, with Dembele being indefinitely excluded from training and chief executive Hans Joachim Watzke giving Barca a strict time limit.
Borussia Dortmund have given Barcelona a deadline to finalise a deal for Ousmane Dembele
'The time horizon is enough for two games,' he told Kicker when asked for an update on the situation.
Dortmund claim to have already rejected a £90million offer for the promising 20-year-old.
The German club know Barcelona are under pressure to stump up a hefty fee and reinvest some of the £198m received for Neymar from PSG.
The young French forward has been lined up as a replacement for Neymar by Barcelona
Equally, Peter Bosz's side will not want to keep Dembele around if he is affecting the morale of the squad.
Barcelona are also looking to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool but with the Reds refusing to sell, the Catalan side are facing a struggle to replace Neymar without radically overspending before deadline day.
The 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup first leg has only heightened the pressure on the Barcelona hierarchy and the clock is now ticking for Valverde's side to conclude their business.