Liverpool are preparing to table a club-record £85million for Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele in January.
The Frenchman is something of a misfit at the Nou Camp and has failed to impress consistently since his £96m switch — which could rise to £135m — from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
And, according to The Sun, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is ready to swoop for the 21-year-old this winter.
Klopp believes that recruiting the winger will boost his side’s chances of claiming that elusive Premier League title in the second half of the season.
The Reds already boast an embarrassment of attacking riches — Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge to name a few — but could look to further bolster their ranks.
Demebele, on the surface at least, appears to be the perfect fit – but it would mean another sizeable outlay from the Liverpool board.
In 12 months they broke their transfer record twice in the purchases of Naby Keita and Virgil van Dijk, not to mention the then world-record fee for a goalkeeper in bringing in the £65m Alisson.
And to mix it with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea, Liverpool appear to think they have to splash the cash.
Although Dembele isn’t boasting the numbers of Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez, he has still yielded a reasonable return of six goals and two assists this season.
But murmurings of ill-discipline and poor attitude have unfortunately become synonymous with the player.
He went AWOL from Borussia Dortmund training while trying to seal a move to Barcelona before France boss Didier Deschamps revealed he has a habit of arriving late for training.
Klopp will want him to curb that should he make the move to Anfield in the new year.
Liverpool are currently unbeaten in the Premier League and sit just two points behind table-toppers City.