Dortmund CEO confirms Dembele's transfer to Barcelona is close

It's just a matter of time before Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona reach an agreement over the sale of Ousmane Dembele.

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke insisted that a deal wasn't completed, but revealed that talks over a reported €105-million sale, with €40 million potentially due in add-ons, are progressing well.

"I can only tell you that we are on the way (to reaching an agreement), but we've not reached the end yet," Watzke told reporters, as translated by Samuel Marsden of ESPN FC.

With the transfer deadline quickly approaching and Dembele's unrest at the club upon learning about Barcelona's interest, time is running out for the Dortmund to do business and bring in reinforcements to soften the blow of losing such a gifted player.

Watzke acknowledged there's no competitive advantage on the pitch by offloading the gifted 20-year-old and suggested the club has yet to decide whether to enter the market if the sale goes through.

"Should Ousmane Dembele be transferred, it would weaken us on the pitch," he said. "We might go into the market again but it's a fact that there's no like-for-like replacement for Ousmane."

Interest in Dembele first emerged after the shock transfer of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, who paid a world-record €222-million fee.

The situation picked up steam earlier this month when Barcelona's initial bid, reportedly worth €100 million, failed, prompting Dembele to go AWOL from the team's training sessions in order to force a transfer. Dortmund later suspended the French international.

Barcelona is also eager to complete a deal with Liverpool for Philippe Coutinho, but the Premier League club has been reluctant to part ways after reportedly rejecting a bid worth €147 million (£136 million).