Dortmund keep forward Dembele suspended

Dortmund, Aug 13 (IANS)   Forward Ousmane Dembele would remain suspended from group training sessions until further notice, Borussia Dortmund announced.

This decision came after the German football club turned down an offer from FC Barcelona on August 10 for the transfer of the French forward, reports Efe.

The Bundesliga club explained in a statement that the decision was taken jointly by Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, sporting director Michael Zorc and coach Peter Bosz after Saturday's 4-0 victory over Rielasingen-Arlen in the first round of the German DFB Cup.

Dortmund are now concentrating on preparing the team for the Bundesliga opening match against Wolfsburg on August 19, according to Zorc.

He added that the 20-year-old Frenchman would work out apart from group training sessions.

The German club added that it would not give further comments on this matter.

Dembele was penalised due to his absence from practice on Thursday, sparking fresh speculation about his future with the Bundesliga club.

"Barcelona has presented an offer that does not match the extraordinary footballing and otherwise status of the player and also not the current market situation. BVB have turned this offer down," Dortmund said then in a statement.

German sports magazine Kicker had reported that Dortmund wanted 120 million euros ($141.06 million) for Dembele.

Dembele joined Dortmund from Rennes in the 2015/2016 season and appeared in 32 games with the German side.