Rumour Mongering: Barcelona Transfer List Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona can’t buy Antoine Griezmann until they sell Dembele. So they really want to sell Dembele.

Barcelona are desperate to sell Ousmane Dembele in order to fund their purchase of Antoine Griezmann this summer and have taken the step of transfer listing the the 22-year-old as they actively shop him to Europe’s biggest clubs—including Liverpool.

That’s the story today in Germany, with Kicker claiming Bayern Munich have been offered the player for around £90M but that they see him as a fallback option to Manchester City’s Leroy Sane. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain want him, but as part payment for Neymar.

Since Barcelona need money to pay for Griezmann and not a makeweight for Neymar, that would seem to leave Liverpool as the most reasonable alternative to Bayern. Or at least that’s the current state of the Dembele transfer saga as it’s being told this week.

Given Kicker’s placement as a generally reliable source for German transfer chatter, perhaps the most worthwhile takeaway here is that Bayern only seem Dembele as an alternative should they fail to bring in Sane—as if they do it could leave Barca without options.

If Liverpool are interested in Dembele, it won’t be at the £90M the Catalan giants are seeking, and so actively moving for him while Bayern might be in the picture wouldn’t make a lot of sense. If Sane heads to Bayern, though, the Reds could force the price down.

If Barcelona do need to sell in order to make their splashy signing and if Bayern get their first choice, Dembele could make for quite the target of opportunity. Realistically, though, it’s a long shot at absolute best, and we wouldn’t suggest anyone get their hopes up.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com