Xavi intends to use Ousmane Dembele for the rest of the season

Barcelona boss Xavi has insisted that Ousmane Dembele will be involved for the Catalan giants in the final months of the 2021-22 campaign.

The France international was told to leave Camp Nou in January, having failed to sign a new contract, but the deadline passed with the attacker still at the club.

There had been suggestions that the World Cup winner would be frozen out in the final months of the season, as he is expected to leave on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of June.

However, Xavi has insisted that Dembele will be an important player for the La Liga giants, with the attacker included in the squad for Sunday's Barcelona derby with Espanyol.

"He's a player of the squad. He's going to help the team and he'll play for sure. It's a closed topic. I wanted to give Ousmane minutes against Atletico [Madrid], but circumstances didn't make it happen," Xavi told reporters.

Dembele, who continues to be linked with a summer move to Manchester United, has scored once and provided two assists in 11 appearances for Barcelona during the 2021-22 campaign.