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Borussia Dortmund signs coveted teenage star Ousmane Dembele from Rennes

Stephane Mahe / Reuters

Borussia Dortmund has beaten a host of suitors to the signing of highly touted Rennes forward Ousmane Dembele, the club announced Thursday. The deal sees the versatile attacker ink a contract with the German side until June 30, 2021.

Dortmund refused to reveal specific financial details of the deal, though reports suggest Rennes was looking for around €30 million for the coveted talent.

"BVB showed a lot of interest in me right from an early stage and they have always kept close contact with me - this really impressed me," Dembele said in a club statement.

"I am totally convinced of the Borussia sporting concept. I can hardly wait to play in the Bundesliga in front of more than 80,000 spectators in the Signal Iduna Park and to walk onto the pitch in the Champions League with my new teammates."

Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc sang the praises of his new signing.

"Ousmane can play nearly every position in attack," Zorc said. "He is strong one-on-one, he can play with both feet, he is good at nutmegging and dribbling, and he is fast and dangerous in front of goal."

The 18-year-old joins Dortmund after scoring 12 goals in 25 appearances for Rennes in Ligue 1 during the 2015-16 season. He was voted France's Young Player of the Year for his efforts, which included a debut goal against Bordeaux and a hat-trick against FC Nantes in a 4-1 victory in the Derby Breton.

He also added five assists to his tally in his debut season with Rennes, making him an all-around threat up top for Les Rouges et Noirs, who currently sit seventh in Ligue 1 with one match remaining in the season

The France under-21 international was reportedly being targeted by a number of clubs, including Liverpool and Leicester City, but remained adamant he had already made up his mind on which club he would be joining.

Dembele says he even received a phone call from Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri earlier in the week, too, but was not interested in joining the Premier League's fairy tale champion team.

"I was surprised to hear from (Ranieri) but I told him I will not be going to Leicester. He doesn't speak French very well," Dembele said in an interview with French daily Ouest-France. "I do hope to be playing in the Champions League, but I know where I'm going and it's final."

At Dortmund, he will need to compete for a spot with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up top, supported out wide by the likes of Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

However, with Mats Hummels completing a move back to Bayern Munich and many of Dortmund's star players linked to a move away from the club, Dembele may be the star attraction of his new side sooner rather than later.

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