Reports from Spain suggest Ousmane Dembele is to be offloaded by Barcelona, with the Reds heavily linked with him last summer.
One of Barca’s two big-money additions last season, Dembele—along with former Liverpool schemer Philippe Coutinho—was seen as the antidote to a Neymar sale by the Camp Nou club.
It didn’t quite come off for him last term as injury and inconsistency interrupted his debut season in Catalunya.
That sparked rumours throughout the summer that Liverpool would make a move for the France international, with even a loan deal spoken about as being possible.
Nothing materialised and Dembele began the new season in good form, but it seems he has lost the faith of the club hierarchy of late.
RAC1 report that Dembele has now been told to find a new club by Barcelona officials, with an exit even possible as soon as January.
Jurgen Klopp was asked about potentially signing Dembele in the summer—including on one memorable occasion where reports suggested the Reds had agreed a deal.
While that might not be out of the ordinary, the timing certainly was: Liverpool had been playing a pre-season match at the time.
Dembele began this season netting three goals in his first four LaLiga appearances and another in the Champions League—but has not scored since mid-September.
Indeed, he has been left as an unused sub in Europe since the opening match-day, and was only a late sub in El Clasico at the weekend.
That said, his impact was enormous: he helped Barca run riot on the counter-attack, claiming an assist in an eventual 5-1 win over Real Madrid.
He also played a similar role in France’s summer World Cup win, starting the group matches before losing his place in the knock-outs.
While his consistency might hang in the balance and leave Barcelona questioning the need for him, there’s absolutely no discussion to be had over his potential.
If he is indeed available for a move, there’s every reason, therefore, to expect Klopp will echo his own summer words: “Now I’m interested.”
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