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What's the story?
With the FSG and Jurgen Klopp holding firm at Liverpool, Barcelona are turning their attentions away from Anfield and onwards toward the Emirates and Stade Louis II as they seek replacements for Philippe Coutinho and seek to replenish a squad that looks woefully unfit to mount out any sort of challenge to Real Madrid's supremacy in Spain and in Europe.
To this end, they are willing to take the money they'd set aside for the Coutinho splurge and shift to two bids - a whopping €98 million bid for Monaco's Thomas Lemar (as per the Mirror) and another stunning €60 million bid for Mesut Ozil (as per the good folk at the Express)
In case you didn't know
The move to try and lure Mesut Ozil came very late in the midst of Premier League Deadline Day madness and has set Arsenal hearts across the world aflutter in worried anxiety - especially after reports claimed that the Gunners have also set the price tag for the magical German playmaker.
The heart of the matter
The Thomas Lemar move meanwhile comes after Monaco reportedly accepted Arsenal's bid for the young winger only for the player himself to turn the Gunners down citing an unwillingness to move to a club that's in the Europa League this season. This clearly indicates that Monaco are willing to sell, and are merely looking for someone willing to shell out the right price.
Further encouragement was provided by Lemar himself when he responded with a rather coy "You will soon see for yourself, but for the moment I am a Monegasque and everything is going very well" when asked about his future after a brilliant performance in France's 4-0 annihilation of Netherlands yesterday night in Paris.
Video
Here's Lemar doing his thing for Monaco:
The lad sure can play
And here's a video of the best of Mesut Ozil in La Liga
Given the right environment to work in the German can work wonders, can't he?
Author's Take
While Barcelona fans are bound to be disappointed with Phillipe Coutinho not arriving at the Camp Nou, it may actually be better for the Blaugrana to put their eggs in two baskets - especially baskets that are as promising as Lemar's and proven as Ozil's.
Thomas Lemar and the already present Ousmane Dembele would provide real cut, thrust, and pace to the Barca attack while Mesut Ozil would provide the guile that the ageing Andres Iniesta is struggling to in the middle of the park.
