Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele will be available as a free agent at the end of the season in the summer transfer window and interested clubs won’t need to pay a transfer fee to sign him but his injury record is a serious question mark.
While the Reds have scored an incredible number of goals this season, this is largely down to Mohamed Salah’s incredible form. He’s battling a bit at the moment which is not the biggest surprise but he’s still got 22 goals and 9 assists this season.
Fabrizio Romano says two Premier League sides made approaches
Reporting on Twitter, Romano said that two clubs from England’s top flight have reached out to Dembele to sign the forward as a free agent and with his contract set to enter its final six months, Barcelona will be powerless to stop him.
Ousmane Dembélé has been approached by two Premier League clubs to sign as free agent, offering big salary. ❗️ #FCB
His plan was to stay, but he won’t sign a new deal if Barça don't offer him salary he wants – situation now ‘really complicated’.
📲 More: https://t.co/SXxC83RpdL
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 29, 2021
Romano reported: “Ousmane Dembélé has been approached by two Premier League clubs to sign as a free agent, offering a big salary. His plan was to stay, but he won’t sign a new deal if Barça don’t offer him the salary he wants – the situation is now ‘really complicated’.
“It’s safe to say that Newcastle United have made an approach to Barcelona and the player as they desperately look to stay up.”
Mundo Deportivo reported in November that the Barcelona star was the subject of an offer from the Tyneside club but is there a chance that Liverpool is the other club Fabrizio Romano has referred to?
Perhaps not but without further elaboration from the Italian, it’s difficult to tell.
Should Liverpool sign Ousmane Dembele or is he too much of a risk?
I think it’s safe to say that I and most Liverpool fans agree that it’s too risky which is a real shame because he is a massively talented player and would be one of the best players in the world without his injuries.
That said, Jurgen Klopp knows first-hand, having worked with Naby Keita over the last few years, that the frustration of working with an injury-prone player is often not worth the potential upside even if they can overcome their injury problems at any time.
Keita, of course, arrived without any hint of muscle problems but Dembele has a long history of injuries and is already reportedly earning £287,000 per week so any increase he would want on top of that to move to Anfield would put him above every player at the club until Mohamed Salah (hopefully – fingers crossed) signs a new contract.
Even without a transfer fee involved, you can’t have a player that likely would only play 50% of the games in the season due to fitness problems earning more than any person at the club.
According to Christian Falk, the former Rennes star has demanded €43m/season as well as a €5m bonus for winning the UCL and for winning La Liga which is why Barcelona want to sell him in January.
Jurgen Klopp tried to sign the Frenchman in 2017
The Liverpool manager met with Dembele in Paris in 2017 before his mega-money move to Barcelona, according to an interview the forward gave to Four Four Two.
He said: “I saw Klopp in Paris but I told him I’d made up my mind to sign for BVB.”
Ultimately, he decided to move to Camp Nou, a move that I’m sure was influenced by the chance to play alongside the great Lionel Messi which is more than understandable but a free transfer to Anfield no longer makes sense for anyone other than Dembele.
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