Barcelona are expected to allow Ousmane Dembele to leave on loan this summer, with Liverpool among the clubs interested in signing the winger.
Dembele was touted as a summer target for the Reds along with Lyon duo Nabil and Yassin Fekir ahead of the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at the beginning of May.
While speculation has continued over Fekir’s proposed £62 million switch to Anfield, the chances of Liverpool securing a deal for Barcelona’s No. 11 have been downplayed.
However, it was claimed this week that the Liga giants had begun contacting clubs regarding a possible move, building on suggestions the Reds could be interested in a loan switch.
With his campaign was hampered by injury and competition for places heightened by Philippe Coutinho‘s arrival in January, Dembele made only 23 appearances this season, totalling 1,167 minutes.
And discussing the possibility of the 21-year-old departing in the summer transfer window, Sky Sports‘ Guillem Balague claimed that “surprisingly enough” Barcelona were open to a loan:
“My understanding of the situation is they will let him go on loan,” he explained.
“Right now, who is going to pay €100 million for him anyway? As I said, they will let him go on loan though.
“At first they thought he’s advancing well but now they realise he needs to get minutes and he won’t if Antoine Griezmann arrives.
“They are waiting to see if Griezmann gets confirmed and if that’s the case they are looking at the possibility of letting him go on loan.”
When questioned on rumours of interest in Dembele after the loss at Stamford Bridge, Jurgen Klopp joked: “Is he on the market? Now I’m interested!”
Klopp failed in his pursuit of Dembele when he was still on the books at Rennes, with the winger instead opting to join the German’s former club Borussia Dortmund in 2016.
An initial £96.8 million move to Catalonia followed a year later, but with things moving slowly for him at Camp Nou, as Balague attests, a temporary switch could be beneficial.
The prospect of Dembele alternating with the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah is an attractive one, and building strength in depth in attack is essential for Klopp this summer.
Given that his future is seemingly linked with that of Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, however, still ensures an element of doubt in proceedings.
Furthermore, whether Liverpool would agree to a straightforward loan deal, rather than one with an option to buy as previously mooted, remains to be seen.
The Reds have also been linked with Barcelona centre-back Yerry Mina in recent weeks.
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