Liverpool Ready To Steal March On Arsenal With Club Record Bid To Sign Exciting Star

The transfer window is closed but managers are planning ahead for January and next summer so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip. Today, Liverpool are ready to make their move for Ousmane Dembele….

Liverpool are ready to steal a march on Arsenal by launching a record £85m bid to sign out-of-favour Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele in January, according to reports via TeamTalk.

The 21-year-old was considered to be one of the most exciting young talents in world football when he joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund at the start of last season in a deal that could reach around £135m but he’s struggled to settle at the La Liga champions.

Dembele’s first season in Spain was blighted by a serious hamstring injury but the winger has failed to hold down a regular place since returning to full fitness this season amid rumours he’s infuriating Nou Camp chiefs with his lack of professionalism.

The French international was left on the bench after arriving late for Barca’s Champions League win over Inter Milan in October and was axed from the squad entirely for their shock 3-2 defeat to Real Betis at the weekend after missing training with a ‘stomach bug’.

Dembele’s agent publicly insists the player is happy at the Nou Camp but that’s not stopped reports suggesting the Spanish giants are ready to cash-in when the transfer window re-opens in January and it appears there is plenty of interest from the Premier League.

TeamTalk claim that Arsenal are keen on signing Dembele with head of recruitment Sven Mislintat a big fan having been the man to sign him during his time at Dortmund. The Gunners lack genuine width in their squad at present so Dembele would be an excellent addition for Unai Emery if the Gunners could lure him to north London.

However, it looks like Arsenal will face stiff competition for his signature as TeamTalk are citing a report from the Sun that claims Liverpool are ready to launch a club-record £85m bid to sign Dembele this winter.

The newspaper says Jurgen Klopp is keen to further strengthen his attacking options in January as he looks to maintain their title challenge and he’s ready to test Barcelona’s resolve to keep Dembele with a mega bid over the coming weeks.

Is he needed?

On the face of it, Dembele would be an excellent addition to any squad and he’d be an exciting signing if Liverpool could get a deal agreed. However, do the Merseysiders really need to spend £85m on another winger/attacker?

Klopp already has one of the best attacks in world football at his disposal as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are two of the most feared attackers around. They, along with Roberto Firmino, have fired Liverpool in to title contention so it’s difficult to see where Dembele would fit in if he moved to Anfield.

Obviously Klopp needs to have a large squad to cope with competing in several competitions and he’ll want to keep the likes of Salah and Mane fresh, but with Xherdan Shaqiri struggling to hold down a first team place I think Liverpool would be better served spending the £85m on strengthening other areas of their squad this winter.