Barcelona keen on retaining Ousmane Dembele amid interest from Liverpool
According to Spanish news outlet Sport (h/t Liverpool Echo), Barcelona are planning to make their ‘last attempt’ to convince Liverpool target Ousmane Dembele for a renewal deal.
Injuries and unforeseen setbacks have ravaged the Frenchman’s career. In four years with the Catalan club, the 24-year-old has only featured in 122 games. The French striker has yet to complete a full-90 minute game in the current season and has only featured in 4 games as a substitute.
Dembele’s Barcelona future remains up in the year till date. The Frenchman hasn’t signed any new agreement with the Catalan club and has attracted a lot of interest from elite clubs across the continent.
Barcelona are still tackling the adverse financial situation and doesn’t have the financial backing to spend a hefty amount of money to sign a world-class replacement. Thus Xavi would be hard-pressed to bring in a replacement for Dembele should he move.
It is believed that the Blaugrana intends to keep hold of their star forward and are planning to offer him a renewal deal in an attempt to tie him down for the near future.
Liverpool forwards has been performing incredibly well and has been influential in the Reds success the past few years. However, they are not getting any younger and will need to be replaced sooner rather than later.
There also appears to be some uncertainty over the future of Divock Origi. The Belgian has worked as a super-sub and has scored crucial goals for the Reds off the bench. However, his lack of game time under Jurgen Klopp could push him towards an exit.
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Dembele’s qualities could give him an edge over other players at The English top flight. He is fast and has exceptional ball control skills. However, his lack of physicality could become a problem against Premier League defenders. But he has found ways to tackle the problem as well and can use his speed and agility to escape from tight spaces and pressurized situations.
