Ousmane Dembele is ready to join Chelsea – but Barcelona star does NOT want to be on the bench and wants reassurances he will start

OUSMANE DEMBELE ready to join Chelsea revolution – but refuses to watch it from the bench.

The 25-year-old Barcelona striker is wanted by boss Thomas Tuchel as a replacement for underdog Romelu Lukaku who is edging closer to a return to Inter Milan.

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Dembele has serious ambitions to win the Premier League title and Champions League.

But he wants assurances from Tuchel that he will be a Chelsea starter and not subject to strict squad rotation.

Dembele only completed 90 minutes nine times last season but still finished them with 13 assists – the most in LaLiga.

The France star with 27 caps is frustrated at the Nou Camp after starting just 41 per cent of the games he has played in the last three seasons.

He played for Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund, the coach described him as a “crazy talent”.

Dembele’s stunning form in Germany earned him a £138m move to Barca with £97m paid in advance.

Inter Milan have turned down their offer of a £8m loan fee to lure Lukaku back – just 12 months after he left for England on a whopping £97m transfer.

Chelsea want more than double that to fund their search for an alternative – but they hit upon the idea of ​​letting Lukaku go.

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Dembele is a target, although not an equal swap for Lukaku – a classic No9.

The Chelsea head coach has proven versatile in his approach to his front line, using Kai Havertz as what he calls a ‘false nine’ in the middle of a front three.

Lukaku is willing to cut his £325,000-week wage to find happiness in Italy.

But Inter are also hoping to raise additional funds by selling right-back Denzel Dumfries and sacking centre-back Milan Skriniar, with Chelsea interested in both players.