Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele is hoping to stay, amid interest from Liverpool.
According to L’Equipe, Liverpool have made contact about a deal to sign Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele – but he wants to stay at the Camp Nou.
Dembele, 22, was a huge signing for Barcelona in 2017 after Neymar’s exit to Paris Saint-Germain, with BBC reporting that the fee involved was £135.5million.
The Frenchman was expected to make a huge impact but maybe hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, even if he hit 14 goals and nine assists last season.
With rumours that Neymar could return to Barca and Antoine Griezmann may sign, Dembele’s role under Ernesto Valverde is unclear, and it’s believed that both Liverpool and Bayern Munich have enquired about a deal.
However, the Frenchman is allegedly keen to stay at the Camp Nou, meaning he’s reluctant to move on, which may well frustrate Jurgen Klopp for a second time.
Dembele told Four Four Two in 2016 that, when he joined Borussia Dortmund from Rennes the previous summer, Klopp had attempted to bring him to Liverpool, but he chose a move to Dortmund instead.
Dembele has no doubt remained on Klopp’s radar ever since, but convincing him to make the move to Anfield remains difficult; not anything particularly against Liverpool, just that the circumstances haven’t been ideal.
Liverpool do need another versatile attacker to support Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, and Dembele would fit the bill even if it would be tricky balancing all four, but a deal currently seems unlikely.
Liverpool would be wise to keep tabs on Barcelona though, as if they want both Griezmann and Neymar, then somebody will have to go for big money to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations – and that may well be Dembele.
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