Barcelona are reportedly set to increase their offer for Borussia Dortmund ace Ousmane Dembele to a staggering €140m in the next week or so.
The Catalan giants lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record fee last month, and boss Ernesto Valverde will be hoping a replacement arrives before the end of the window.
According to AS, despite having an initial bid of €110m turned down by Dortmund, they will return with an improved offer of €140m as Liverpool’s stance on Philippe Coutinho is forcing them to make the French international their priority.
Dembele had been temporarily suspended this week after failing to attend a training session with speculation rife over his future, but the Bundesliga giants are holding their ground with regards to their valuation of him as they want between €120m and €150m for the 20-year-old.
Having scored 10 goals and provided 21 assists in 49 appearances in all competitions last season, his first in Germany after moving from Rennes, he’s proven that he’s a quality talent but many will argue that his price-tag is far beyond a reasonable fee.
It doesn’t get any better with regards to Coutinho either, as The Daily Record report that Liverpool have priced the Brazilian ace at €150m during negotiations with Barcelona, which contradicts the line from the club as they’ve stated throughout that he’s not for sale.
Barca had a €100m bid rejected by the Merseyside outfit, although after Coutinho handed in a transfer request on Friday, it remains to be seen whether or not that now changes the situation.
It’s claimed in the report that Liverpool’s willingness to negotiate is in stark contract to their public stance, with FSG releasing a statement insisting that he wouldn’t be sold, while Jurgen Klopp echoed those sentiments.
However, based on this report, they could be willing to do business if Barcelona are capable of reaching their magic number, although it doesn’t give them too much time to react and replace with a couple of weeks in the window remaining.