Liverpool ready to launch £85m January bid for Ousmane Dembélé

His Barcelona nightmare could come to an end after just 18 months

Liverpool are preparing to launch a club record £85 million bid for Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembélé this January, according to reports. Dembélé has become an outcast at Barcelona after inconsistent performances and poor punctuality has seen him dropped from the first team having joined for £96m from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017. Neymar left very big shoes to fill and a combination of injuries, inconsistency and disagreements with Ernesto Valverde have contributed to his failure to adequately replace the Brazilian. The Frenchman was omitted from the Barça squad to face Inter Milan after arriving late to a team meeting, while his tendency to lose possession has frustrated the coaching staff as well as the fans. It now look as though the player will part ways with the LaLiga club, after it has become clear that the pair are not compatible. In pursuit of the Premier League title, Klopp sees the chance to sign Dembélé as an opportunity to boost Liverpool's chances of keeping up with Manchester City. Liverpool have a well established front three of Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, but Dembélé would provide the option to rotate the front line alongside Xherdan Shaqiri and Daniel Sturridge throughout the long, busy season that lies ahead for the Reds. Dembélé hit his best form while at Borussia Dortmund, although his time at the club did not overlap with Klopp's. The 21-year-old thrived under Thomas Tuchel, forming a devastating front line next to Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. On paper, Dembélé is a perfect fit for Liverpool, but as his nightmare at Barcelona has taught us, these transfers don't always work out the way they're supposed to. If Liverpool do sign the winger in January, it will be the second consecutive year that they have broken their club record signing after they bought Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton last season for £75m.