Liverpool are targeting a club record January move for Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claims that Jurgen Klopp is ready to test the Spanish champions’ resolve with an £85million bid for the 21-year-old.
The German wants the France international to boost the team’s Premier League title chances in the second half of the season, and is willing to smash the transfer record of £75million set last January when the Reds signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.
Dembele has six goals and two assists so far this campaign, but was left out of the Barca squad to face Real Betis at the weekend with a stomach bug.
OPINION
This is an all or nothing type move for Liverpool. If they bring Dembele in and he is able to fulfil his potential under Klopp then it’s a terrific signing, but if he merely produces the same inconsistent displays that he has at Barcelona then he’s going to look like an overpriced mistake. It is all about whether the Reds boss feels that he can coax more out of the 21-year-old than Ernesto Valverde has been able to in Catalonia. If he feels confident that he can then the club should go ahead and make the move. £85million isn’t that much for a young player of Dembele’s quality in this day and age, and because of his youth it’s conceivable that he could be leading the Liverpool line for the next decade or more. It’s appeared in recent weeks that Manchester City will be extremely difficult to stop this year, meaning that the Reds need to do something to shift the balance in their favour – Dembele would certainly be something.
