Liverpool have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Ousmane Dembele as Barcelona are reportedly willing to slash their asking price.

A report from Sport (via Rousing the Kop) has revealed the once £96.8million-valued winger could leave in January for a much lower fee. It seems the Catalonians are eager to offload Dembele, but have begrudgingly realised they will struggle to recoup the mammoth amount they paid for him in 2017.

Liverpool should move for Dembele

Despite reportedly only wanting the 23-year-old on loan, Liverpool should seriously consider tabling an offer for a permanent move. Sport claim Barca would be looking for bids in the region of £45million for Dembele, who has been limited to just 20 minutes of game time this season (via Transfermarkt).

Spending big money on a rotational player is clearly not out of the question for Liverpool, who recently signed Diogo Jota for £41million. Bringing in a player of Dembele's calibre would be serious business for the Anfield outfit, who are looking to continue their run of success and add competition for star men Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

The Frenchman's 2018/19 season was his best in terms of personal numbers, notching 14 goals and eight assists across all competitions for Barcelona. He pace and eye for creativity will give Liverpool a huge boost in their attack.

Dembele may be struggling for minutes at the moment, but his talent is widely regarded by many. Teammate Lionel Messi once tipped the winger to become "one of the best" and labelled him a "phenomenon" on the pitch (as per Marca, via FourFourTwo). With such strong words being said about him, it will be hard for Jurgen Klopp not to have the France international on his radar.

Dembele's current contract runs out in 2022, meaning an even further discount could be applied come next summer. Once he enters the final 12 months of his deal, Barca may become anxious and do all that they can to tempt a club like Liverpool to strike a deal.

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