Arsenal & Liverpool Ready To Do-Battle Over Deal To Sign £96m Winger – Report

The transfer window is closed but managers are still planning ahead for January and next summer so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip. Today, Ousmane Dembele is linked with Arsenal and Liverpool….

Arsenal and Liverpool are among the clubs ready to pounce after Barcelona decided they are willing to cash-in on Ousmane Dembele this winter, according to reports via the Daily Mail.

The 21-year-old emerged as one of the hottest properties in world football during his time at Borussia Dortmund to earn a big money move to Barcelona in the summer of 2017 but he’s struggled to establish himself under boss Ernesto Valverde.

Dembele’s debut season at the Nou Camp was hampered by a serious hamstring injury but the winger has failed to hold down a regular place since returning to full fitness and he riled Valverde after arriving late for their Champions League clash with Inter Milan last week.

The French international was left on the bench for the entire match as the Catalans beat Inter 2-0 and he was only introduced as a late substitute during Barca’s stunning 5-1 win over Real Madrid on Sunday afternoon.

Now, the Daily Mail are carrying a report that claims Barcelona chiefs are ready to sell Dembele if a suitable offer arrives in January with the Spaniard’s hoping to recoup the £96m they paid for his signature less than 18 months ago. The newspaper links to Spanish outlet Sport.es but they cite Catalan radio station RAC1 as the original source of the information.

The Daily Mail says Barca chiefs have grown tired of Dembele’s attitude and have already made contact with potential suitors about a deal with Arsenal and Liverpool named as two clubs who’re keen to lure the pacey winger to the Premier League this winter.

Unai Emery has made a solid start to life in England after replacing Arsene Wenger in the summer but his Arsenal squad lacks any real width so Dembele would be a sensational signing if they could pull it off and obviously he knows Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan well from their time together at Dortmund.

Liverpool’s supposed interest is interesting as they already have one of the most fearsome attacks in world football with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane supporting Roberto Firmino in their front three so it’s difficult to see where Dembele would fit in to Jurgen Klopp’s plans.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but if Dembele continues to be out-of-favour at Barcelona then a move could be on the cards in January and I think he’d be a great signing for Arsenal or Liverpool.