Liverpool encouraged in bid for sought-after star

Mark Holmes

Liverpool are said to have received ‘encouraging signs’ they can win the race to sign teenage Rennes striker Ousmane Dembele this summer.

Dembele, 18, has risen to prominence with 12 goals in Ligue 1 in his debut campaign, leading to a host of speculation regarding his future.

Barcelona and Bayern Munich are understood to have closely watched the Frenchman, who admitted on Tuesday that he will play his final match for Rennes at the weekend, before suggesting he knows which club he will join.

According to The Guardian, Liverpool have been offered ‘encouraging signs’ that they will land Dembele, with the Reds now in a two-horse race with Jurgen Klopp’s former club Dortmund.

The France youth international will reportedly command a fee of £27.6million with add-ons, and is believed to have spoken to Klopp on the phone earlier this week.

Tottenham and Leicester are among the other teams to have been linked with Dembele, but the player has ruled out joining the Premier League champions.

“I had Claudio Ranieri on the phone,” he told Ouest-France. “I was surprised to hear from him, I told him that I will not go to Leicester. He does not speak very good French.”