Barcelona fail with €35m Ousmane Dembele bid - but how good is the teen superstar?

But even so, it was a big shock to read reports on Monday that Barcelona had made a €35 million (£27.1m) offer for the 18-year-old – and been rejected by Rennes.

With nine goals and four assists in just 18 Ligue 1 games this season, the talented forward is rapidly becoming one of the most in-demand players on the continent, with scouts flocking to his matches.

Barcelona’s own sporting director Robert Fernandez was in the stands when Dembele scored a magnificent hat-trick against Nantes on March 6.

France Football reports that Barca made their move after this impressive display, only to be spurned by Rennes. Bayern Munich and Manchester City are also said to be on his case.

So, what’s the big fuss about?

The teen sensation had his best performance in front of Fernandez when he put Nantes to the sword. You can see two of those goals in the video below.

Dembele was also described as “the new prodigy of French football” by BT expert Julien Laurens in February, picking out some of his recent highlights.

Rennes advisor Mikael Silvestre, formerly of Arsenal and Manchester United, caused a bit of a stir in France when comparing Dembele to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was 18 when he joined Silvestre at Old Trafford.

"You have to put it in context," Silvestre said. "I compared him to Cristiano Ronaldo at the same age, when he joined Manchester United. I could have taken [Nicolas] Anelka at PSG, Thierry Henry or David Trezeguet. Players who, at 20 years old, played the World Cup in France in 1998. Players who were very mature for their age.... I know the player. He has his head on his shoulders.

"When I was comparing him to Cristiano it was, for me, a way of putting pressure on him in terms of demand. To reach that level, you have to be hard working. He is already — he can still develop.

Is the hype justified? We spoke to Cyril Morin from our Paris office to establish just how promising Dembele is.

Full of promise; he’s already above the rest of Ligue 1. He is very fast and plays with two feet. He used to be a winger.

Maybe. France coach Didier Deschamps said on Saturday that he is following the player, but he is only 18 and there are many possible players in the squad, so it will be difficult.

As usual, the comparison with Thierry Henry has been made. But he has played fewer than 20 games in Ligue 1 so maybe it’s a bit quick.

Fast, ambidextrous and a goalscorer. He can make the difference with his speed but he still has a lot to prove.

Dembele almost didn’t sign his first professional contract with Rennes last summer as former coach Philippe Montanier didn’t give him enough first-team chances. Patrick Vieira came to France in an attempt to coax him to Manchester City but he signed on the dotted line in October.