Juventus have approached Barcelona regarding a loan move for Ousmane Dembele as the Catalan giants attempt to raise funds ahead of a summer of spending.
Dembele has endured a tricky time at Camp Nou since his €105m move in 2017, struggling with a combination of injuries and loss of form.
Barcelona are keen to bring in Inter striker Lautaro Martínez in the summer and have also been plotting a reunion with former forward Neymar, so Dembele may be offloaded to make way for the new arrivals.
According to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo, Juventus opened discussion with Barcelona regarding the winger during talks over midfielder Arthur, who remains the Serie A champions’ primary target.
The report states that Juventus are looking to strengthen their attacking options out wide, with Juan Cuadrado entering the latter stages of his career, and Federico Bernardeschi only used sporadically under Maurizio Sarri.
Dembele has endured a torrid run of injuries during his time at Barcelona, suffering a hamstring problem in February upon his return from three months out with a hamstring injury.
This recent injury record means Juventus would only be prepared to commit to an initial loan deal, although Barcelona would be keen to include a mandatory purchase option, following their failure to permanently offload Philippe Coutinho to Bayern Munich.
At the end of May, 90min revealed that Liverpool had lined up a loan move Dembele as a potential alternative signing to Timo Werner, should RB Leipzig be unwilling to budge on the forward’s £50m release clause.
An initial loan would enable to Reds to keep their costs down during the financial uncertainty triggered by the coronavirus, firing a warning sign to Leipzig that they are under no pressure to match their asking price for Werner.
Manager Jurgen Klopp is a long-term admirer of the French international, having recommended Dembele to Borussia Dortmund back in 2015.
However, according to Gianluca DiMarzio, despite interest from both Juventus and Liverpool, the 23-year-old has no desire to leave Barcelona. Dembele still has two years remaining on his contract at Camp Nou.
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