Newcastle United have been mentioned as one of the clubs to have agreed personal terms with Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele.

What's the story?

The Frenchman is out of contract the Camp Nou come the summer, and according to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), the Magpies are one of the "suspected" clubs to have agreed terms with him.

The report adds that while Dembele may have told teammates he is keen to stay at Barcelona, the suspicion behind-the-scenes at the La Liga giants is that the winger has already made a deal elsewhere, with Newcastle and PSG chief among those.

Statement of intent from Newcastle

Talk about a statement signing.

A World Cup winner with France back in 2018, and with a whole host of domestic trophies to his name in his time with both Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, the still only 24-year-old Dembele comes with a stellar reputation as a global star and someone who could get significantly better in the years to come too.

Ex-teammate Lionel Messi dubbed him a "phenomenon", while Barcelona's former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu even once claimed "he is better than Neymar."

The winger has of course been hampered by injury troubles during his time in Spain but whenever he has featured on the pitch, he has mostly shown just why Barcelona shelled out big money to sign him in the first place - he's provided 62 goal contributions in just 139 games for the club.

And, if Newcastle fans were worried those injury issues had robbed Dembele of his talents, then they should look no further than his recent performances for Barcelona since coming back into the fold under new manager Xavi.

In his last five La Liga games, the flying Frenchman has managed an impressive one goal and seven assists, including setting up two in the recent 4-0 El Clasico thrashing of Real Madrid.

If the Magpies can reach a deal now with Barcelona themselves, and manage to bring the £27m-rated Dembele to the club in the summer, then St James' Park will no doubt be absolutely rocking at the signing of a world star with the peak years of his career in front of him.

AND in other news - Sold for £36.9m, now worth £720k: Newcastle enjoyed a blinder with "unplayable" flop