Barcelona star deals blow to Liverpool in pursuit of €85m forward

 

Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet has denied that Liverpool target Ousmane Dembele is restless at the club, and instead missed the Real Betis defeat through illness. 

The France international signed for Barcelona in 2017 for an eye-watering fee of £135.5 million, off the back of a breakout season at Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.

Dembele has struggled for game time since then and is rumoured to be growing increasingly frustrated with his lack of minutes on the pitch and Liverpool are reportedly ready to spend a club-record £85million to sign the winger in January. 

Furthermore, it’s suggested Klopp has a unique advantage over the likes of Arsenal who are also keen on Dembele, as it’s emerged that the Reds boss was Dembele’s landlord when the youngster first signed for Dortmund from Rennes.

However, his compatriot and Barcelona team-mate Lenglet seems to have poured cold water on the rumors of the 21-year-old being unhappy at Camp Nou, and expects him to stay.

Addressing claims that Dembele was seen laughing in the stands at Barcelona’s struggles, Lenglet told GOAL.com: “If Dembele looked serious in the stands I think that is understandable.

“We were losing and if he started to laugh people would not understand that either. I don’t think there is any problem with him, he was ill, he couldn’t make training and the coach chose another player.

“These are things that happen at every club and we all have to pull in the same direction to reach our goals.”