It’ll be fascinating to see if Liverpool sign Ousmane Dembele this summer.
Spanish outlet Sport reported toward the end of May that the Reds had made contact with the France international about bringing him to Anfield on a Bosman this summer.
And if it does materialise, well it’ll end a very long-running saga of Liverpool trying to sign him.
This time, however, it could be achieved by Julian Ward.
Ward has replaced Michael Edwards as the Merseyside outfit’s sporting director.
There’s no doubt that Edwards was a monstrous success during his time working alongside Jurgen Klopp on the transfer front, but Dembele was one player he could never quite get.
The Barcelona attacker told Four Four Two that Liverpool wanted him in 2016 – at the beginning of Edwards’s reign – when he joined Borussia Dortmund.
And two years later, after joining the Camp Nou outfit from Dortmund, the Premier League giants tried again but were unsuccessful, according to L’Equipe.
If you follow Liverpool transfer news, you’d know that this is a name who crops up every summer.
But there’s a genuine chance Ward could succeed where his predecessor failed and finally sign the player who cost £135 million in 2017 [BBC Sport].
Dembele is weeks away from becoming a free agent in Catalunya.
Leaving is a very real possibility and Liverpool are probably going to be the best club in for him, considering they lost a Champions League final only last week.
Plus, Klopp is going to need a long-term successor for Sadio Mane, who looks increasingly likely to leave Anfield.
Ousmane Dembele joining Liverpool is far from a done deal but even Edwards himself will be delighted to see his successor to pull it off, should it materialise.
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