Liverpool have been linked with a big-money move for Barcelona youngster Ousmane Dembele, 21, this January.
Jurgen Klopp reportedly (via the Sun) wants to sign the French winger to bolster his squad’s options and improve the club’s chances against title holders Manchester City, who recently dismantled their derby rivals Manchester United 3-1 to stay top of the league.
It was always going to be difficult for Dembele to stamp his authority on a Barcelona squad that contained the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Philipe Coutinho. Which is probably why we haven’t heard much from him since arriving for £135.5 million at the start of last season.
However, Dembele has started off this year far brighter with an admirable 6 goals and 2 assists in fifteen games – perking the interest of Klopp, who is reportedly ready to table a record £85 million to bring the player to Merseyside.
With such a huge transfer set to go ahead – and the Liverpool squad already being fairly congested – we expect doors will be closed for a few young hopefuls who were steadily making their way into the first-team.
Here are two who may now have to wait a little longer for their breakthrough…
Harry Wilson
The arrival of Ousmane Dembele would be a huge shame for Harry Wilson who’s currently making waves in the Championship for Derby County.
The winger was already facing the impossible task of competing for the starting spot with Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane, and now he’s facing down the barrel of Mr. Dembele, who’s secured himself priority by virtue of cost.
Despite playing in the centre-midfield role for his current team, we doubt he’s going to have any more luck squeezing into that position in the Liverpool squad with Fabinho, Keita, Milner, Wijnaldum, Henderson and Oxlade-Chamberlain (upon return from injury) all currently in the running.
Dominic Solanke
It’s already looking bleak for Solanke’s prospects at Liverpool, and things won’t be getting any better following the arrival of Dembele.
The English forward has struggled for minutes since arriving from Chelsea in 2017 – spending the majority of his time either on the bench or turning out for the reserve side – and his stats (1 goal in 25 games) don’t make for good reading.
His play time has been reduced significantly thanks to the surprise return of Daniel Sturridge to the first-team squad, and will predictably shoot down even further if Dembele arrives in January.
All in all, this isn’t shaping up to be a happy new year for Solanke. Unless he finds himself a new club.
