Liverpool to open Ousmane Dembele talks with Barcelona

Liverpool are reportedly planning to hold talks with Barcelona regarding the availability of French attacker Ousmane Dembele.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is said to be a huge admirer of the 21-year-old, who joined the Catalan giants for an initial £97m fee from Borussia Dortmund last year.

According to Don Balon, the Merseyside outfit are prepared to kickstart negotiations with the Blaugrana as they seek to lure the Frenchman to Anfield this summer.

Dembele had a below-par debut season with Barcelona where he struggled with injuries and a drop in form, and he ended the campaign with just three goals in 17 appearances.

Despite this, the Champions League finalists are understood to hold an interest in the former Rennes man with Klopp yet to sort out a replacement for the departed Philippe Coutinho.

There has previously been the talk of Barcelona loaning Dembele to Liverpool for the 2018/19 season but the Catalans could yet lean towards a permanent deal as they seek to revive their own interest in Antoine Griezmann.