Ousmane Dembele accepts 40% pay cut, Lucas Paqueta's asking price amid Arsenal interest, and latest on Man Utd's pursuit of Christian Eriksen, Frenkie de Jong, Antony, and Lisandro Martinez

Exclusive insight into the latest transfer news as Ousmane Dembele prepares to stay at Barcelona while Lucas Paqueta is linked with Arsenal & Man City prepare to step up efforts to sign Marc Cucurella

Ousmane Dembele accepts big pay cut for Barcelona stay

Ousmane Dembele is ready to accept a new contract from Barcelona, even though he will reduce his salary by around 40%. The final details have been discussed in the last few hours. Xavi really wanted to keep him and he was also eager to stay despite some interest from other top clubs.

There was interest above all from Paris Saint-Germain with Leonardo as director, but no longer with Luis Campos. Meanwhile, some of the other speculation was slightly overblown - Chelsea and Bayern Munich have never made official offers, it was just Thomas Tuchel who rates Dembele highly, having worked with him at Borussia Dortmund. Raheem Sterling has long been their priority, however.

There was some speculation involving Manchester United and Dembele in the past, but they have never been in the race for Dembele this summer.

The Frenchman landed in Barcelona yesterday to finalise things. He’s accepted the pay cut, and the deal is expected to run until 2…