Barcelona set surprise €60 million price tag as Liverpool declare interest in attacker?
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele is a transfer target for EPL giants Liverpool, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Dembele, whose career at Barcelona is seemingly coming to an end, has already been linked with a myriad of top European clubs.
Barcelona willing to sell Dembele
Dembele, who joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €105 million in 2017, has missed large chunks of games for the Catalans due to injury. He has missed 86 games for the club since 2017 due to various injuries.
The French winger is still regarded as a top talent. Having arrived at Barcelona to compensate for Neymar's departure to Paris Saint Germain, the 23-year has played 74 games in all competitions for the Spanish giants, scoring 19 goals and providing 17 assists.
With the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Martin Braithwaite and young Ansu Fati in the team, Dembele's future at the club looks hazy. There have been persistent rumours that Barcelona would be willing to take a loss on Dembele and let him go if a suitable offer comes.
It looks like Liverpool might very well make an offer. The EPL giants missed out on RB Leipzig Timo Werner, who will move to Chelsea at the end of the season. Liverpool haven now seemingly turned to Dembele now.
Also Read: Barcelona legend accuses coach Setien of not making any sense
With Xherdan Shaqiri likely to leave the club, that leaves only Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi as forward options apart from their fearsome attacking trident of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah. Understandably, manager Jurgen Klopp wants to add to his attacking arsenal, and Dembele is seen as an ideal candidate.
Apart from Liverpool, EPL giants Manchester United and Arsenal have been linked with a move for the Barcelona forward. French giants Paris Saint Germain have also been mooted as a destination.
Mundo Deportivo further suggests that Barcelona would consider selling Dembele if a bid of around €50-€60 million is made. That would be a significant loss for Barcelona, having brought him for over €100 million just three years ago. But with the club interested in Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez, who has a release clause of €111 million, Dembele, alongside another expensive acquisition in Philippe Coutinho, might very well be sold this summer.
Dembele has barely featured for Barcelona this season. He has made 9 appearances in all competitions for the club, out of which 5 have been starts. In those 9 appearances, he has scored 1 goal and provided no assists. He has managed 2.8 dribbles per game as well as 1.6 key passes per game, but the fact is that Dembele has played just 494 minutes this season. With a bigger sample size, one might get to know how the injuries have truly affected him.
With Jurgen Klopp in search for young alternative forward to complement his attacking trio, Dembele is certainly not a bad choice. However, his injury record and certain off-the-field incidents mean that Liverpool will have to be thorough with their background check before they commit the money.
Also Read: Neymar to pay Barcelona €6.7 million in sensational twist to legal drama