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In our second installment of transfer questions answered, we move on to the growing saga of Ousmane Dembele and other possible solutions at winger.
The Frenchman, Dembele, is one of the most talented youth stars in the Ligue 1. At 18-years-old, he has become an established presence in the FC Stade Rennais midfield. Just the past week has seen a lot of drama around this teenage sensation, as reports suggest that he is close to agreeing on a deal with Dortmund.
The pursuit of Dembele comes amid talks of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan leaving Signal Iduna Park this upcoming summer. The former has been linked with possible moves to Arsenal, Juventus, and Chelsea while the latter has garnered heavy interest from Manchester City.
However, with Gundogan set to miss the rest of this season and this summer's UEFA Euros with a leg injury, the setback may be a turn-off to potential suitors and could keep him in Dortmund for the time being. The only plausible destination for Gundogan this summer would be Man City, but if the Citizens don't make the Champions League, they're transfer stock could drop.
If Gundogan were to leave, KAA Gent winger Sven Kums could be brought in to fill the void. Kums has captured the interest of Napoli and Dortmund, but the Italian club looks to have lost interest. However, the asking price from Gent might be too high for a player like Kums which could deter Dortmund from buying him.
As for Mkhitaryan, the Armenian has been scouted extensively by Arsenal and although he was convinced at the end of last season to stay in Dortmund, he might be leaving Germany this summer. If Arsenal are unable to keep Alexis Sanchez in London, it's possible that Mkhitaryan could be the replacement chosen by Gunners manager Arsene Wenger.
If Mkhitaryan were to leave this summer, his replacements could be among the likes of Mario Goetze from Munich, Marlos from Shakhtar Donetsk, Andriy Yarmolenko from Dynamo Kyiv, or Volkan Sen from Fenerbahce.
The most plausible incomer for Dortmund this summer is Goetze. Fans have voiced their concerns with welcoming back Goetze after his exit from Dortmund a couple years ago. And on Friday, Hans-Joachim Watzke said he had not heard of any such requests for the transfer of Gotze away from Munich.
Andriy Yarmolenko, another renowned target, is looking set to leave Ukraine this summer for either AC Milan, Arsenal, or Dortmund. BVB had scouted Yarmolenko back in January, but were unable to make much progress in securing his signature.
Now if Mkhitaryan leaves, Arsenal would most likely drop out of the race for Yarmolenko which could give Dortmund an edge in signing the highly touted winger. However, no news of whether or not Mkhitaryan is leaving has been announced.
Other possible wingers that have recently been on the Dortmund radar are Marlos and Sen. Hronika is reporting that Dortmund are the main contender for the Brazilian winger and have already contacted Donestk about the possible transfer. Marlos is expected to cost 15 million euros. Sen, however, has said he is happy with Fenerbahce. Dortmund will continue to scout the Turkish winger, who has been in superb form as of late.
Again, these are currently just rumors and no official word on anyone has been announced. However, even if Mkhitaryan and Gundogan depart, there seems to be a solid core of replacements waiting in the wings (pun slightly intended).
The third and final installment of transfer questions answered will focus on which youth stars could be coming to Germany and a couple who are being linked with a departure far too soon.