Liverpool transfer news: French report on Ousmane Dembele sparks rumors

VITORIA-GASTEIZ, SPAIN - APRIL 23: Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona looks on during the La Liga match between Deportivo Alaves and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Mendizorroza on April 23, 2019 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
VITORIA-GASTEIZ, SPAIN - APRIL 23: Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona looks on during the La Liga match between Deportivo Alaves and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Mendizorroza on April 23, 2019 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Liverpool have been linked to a transfer move to Ousmane Dembele again in the French press though comments from Barcelona suggest he could stay in Spain.

Liverpol fans are patiently waiting for a big transfer to happen this summer. The latest reports from France suggest that the big money move Reds are hoping for could be Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona.

L’Equipe have been reporting that the Reds have ‘initiated contact’ with Dembele about the French World Cup winner joining Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

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The German boss has been a huge fan of the forward since before his former club Borussia Dortmund snapped him up from Rennes a year after the manager left the club.

The club was not in a financial position to compete with Barcelona for his signature in 2017 as the La Liga side were armed with a huge amount of cash from the sale of Neymar to PSG.

Reports are that Barca want to re-sign Neymar and an ongoing move for Antoine Griezmann is still in the works. Many believe if those deals go through then Dembele and Philippe Coutinho will likely be sold to help fund the move and create space in the squad for the incoming stars.

However, Nou Camp president Josep Maria Bartomeu said last week that they are planning on keeping the pair and they have a big role to play in the Barca squad.

Until Barcelona sign one or both of those transfer targets this will be the line they tow over Dembele.

Liverpool are making lots of noises to suggest they are relatively content to simply keep the European Cup winning squad together and make smaller moves like the additions of Sepp van den Berg and Harvey Elliott plus tying down Divock Origi to a new deal.

While I think it will be tough to match Man City again this season in the Premier League without any additions, I do respect the club not simply blowing cash on players they don’t really love. However if Dembele becomes available I can see a late window move for the attacker.