Liverpool suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 26th, and the Reds haven’t wasted time in starting preparation for next season as they’ve already agreed a deal with AS Monaco for Fabinho.
Mundo Deportivo now claims Jurgen Klopp has turned his attention towards Barcelona and signing Ousmane Dembele and Jasper Cillessen. The France international arrived at the Camp Nou from Borussia Dortmund last summer and struggled with injuries in the first half of the 2017/18 season.
Klopp has made it aware to Dembele about his ‘big interest’ in bringing him to Liverpool, and ‘insists’ on signing him.
The Liverpool manager’s interest in signing Dembele will see him face two obstacles, firstly that the Anfield club, according to Mundo Deportivo, have told him the signing would only be possible if Mohamed Salah leaves. The second is the player wants to go to a team where it’d be more guaranteed he’d be important.
If that does not happen, Dembele would prefer to continue with his current employers, even if it means there will be more competition for a place in the starting XI if Antoine Griezmann arrives at Camp Nou.
Despite the challenges, Klopp is determined to secure Dembele’s services this summer, even if it is on a loan deal, and is continuing regardless. The Liverpool manager is also ready to talk to the player’s entourage, including his mother, and Barcelona to explain his plans for the player in the Reds’ project.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are looking to bring in a new goalkeeper as they’re not convinced with Loris Karius and Simon Mignnolet. Barcelona’s Cillessen is identified as a target and the Dutchman has a release clause of €60m in his contract.
An agent is said to be at work, informing Barcelona of Liverpool’s desire to sign the goalkeeper.
Barcelona have been gathering information from the market regarding Dembele and no decision has been taken in regards to his future. Mundo Deportivo claims the Catalan club will be open to the idea of sanctioning his sale, if they receive an offer of above €100m for the forward.
