Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has quashed talk of Arsenal and Liverpool target Ousmane Dembele leaving the club on a loan deal in January.
Premier League sides Arsenal and Liverpool have been linked with a move for Dembele, as they monitor the former Borussia Dortmund star’s situation at Barcelona.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is a long time fan of Dembele and is claimed to be ready to swoop given any encouragement, but the Catalans have been reluctant to let him go.
Barcelona were recently upset with Dembele’s late decision to inform the club that he was unwell and could not train with the team on Thursday.
The Frenchman has subsequently been left out of Barcelona’s squad to face Real Betis today in La Liga.
Valverde, however, has rejected the idea of Dembele leaving on loan and insists that whatever the club are doing is to get the best out of the Frenchman.
"We always look at transfer windows to strengthen the squad as best we can”, Valverde told a press conference ahead of Barcelona’s clash against Real Betis.
"Dembele's talent is something that is hard to match anywhere.
"We need to work hard to get the best out of his talent.
"We want to see the best of all the players in the squad, always.
“We want them to have a positive impact on the team and negative impact on the opposition that's what we want, we need to help them to do that.
"I've said many times Dembele has an incredible talent and we want him to show that every day.
"He's a great player and we're expecting great things from him.
"I really don't have anything else to say about him."
Dembele has featured in 11 La Liga games for Barcelona this season and has managed to score four times for the side.
The Frenchman came off the bench to score an 87th-minute equaliser for the Blaugrana in their last La Liga game against Rayo Vallecano before Luis Suarez scored a 90th-minute winner.
