Why Siriki Dembele could be prepared to resume contract talks with Peterborough United

Dembele has so far resisted Posh attempts to extend his current deal beyond the end of next season.

The 24 year-old handed in a transfer request in January for personal reasons and re-iterated his desire to leave after helping Posh to promotion from League One.

But Posh are adamant they will not sell Dembele on the cheap even though he could leave for nothing at the end of the 2021-22 season.

And Posh director of football Barry Fry has told the Peterborough Telegraph that no bids have been received for the player so the prospect of contract negotiations starting again are very real.

Fry said: “I have spoken to Siriki and told him if he is still here when the transfer window closes we are prepared to talk about a new contract again.

“Siriki is open to that idea so we will have to wait and see what happens. We want him to stay. He’s an exciting talent who we expect to thrive in the Championship.

“We certainly won’t let him go on the cheap for fear of losing him for nothing. Staying in the Championship could be worth £15 million to us in prize money, solidarity payments and the increase in crowds and TV money, and we wouldn’t get that much for Siriki in the current market.

“Siriki needs to start the season well with us. There will always be clubs panicking towards the end of August and looking for new players.”

Posh paid Grimsby a reported £250k for Dembele in June 2018. The Mariners would be entitled to a sell on fee if a sale did take place.

Fulham, West Brom, Nottingam Forest, Celtic and Rangers have all been linked with a move for Dembele who has scored 26 goals in 123 appearances for Posh.

Dembele is still thought to favour a move to Scotland. He spent part of his childhood in Scotland and he has a young family north of the border. His brother Karamoko plays for Celtic.

Dembele has started pe-season in sparkling form. He is expected to play in Saturday’s friendly at Chelsea.