5 superstars who rejected Liverpool

Liverpool v Villarreal CF - UEFA Europa League Semi Final: Second Leg
Liverpool are no longer an elite club in England, let alone Europe

#4 Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona v Espanyol - La Liga
Liverpool failed in their pursuit of Dembele while he was at Rennes.

While he might be only 20 years of age, there is no denying the fact that Ousmane Dembele is a world-class talent and while some might find the €105 million fee that Barcelona paid to acquire his services from Borussia Dortmund a bit too high, others believe he will justify the price Barca have paid for him for several seasons to come.

The youngster had already impressed several clubs with his performances for Rennes in Ligue 1 since breaking into the side in the 2015-16 season and it came as no surprise that Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool seemed keen to acquire his services. After all, the Merseyside club that has not won the Premier League since its inception were looking to add to their attacking depth at the beginning of the 2016-17 season and the French superstar was deemed to be the perfect fit.

His abilities on the flank had troubled defenders in France as he racked up 12 goals and 5 assists in 26 appearances during his debut season and Jurgen Klopp decided it was enough to make a move from him. While Liverpool did approach him in the summer of 2016, it proved to be a late one and Dembele slipped from their hands even before he could establish a solid reputation for himself.

Dembele had decided that a move to Dortmund would benefit his career immensely and decided to forego the opportunity to sign for Klopp’s men and in hindsight, it was not such a bad decision. The Vernon-born attacker scored 10 goals and assisted another 18 to become a player oppositions fear and despite being injured at the time of writing this article, Dembele is sure to play a pivotal role at the Camp Nou.

Liverpool, on the other hand, will rue the missed opportunity to lure Dembele to Anfield as his ability on the pitch could definitely have helped the Reds who have put on some lacklustre performances over the last 15 months.

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Edited by Amit Mishra