Barcelona have reportedly reignited their interest in signing Philippe Coutinho, and are plotting a January move for the Liverpool playmaker.
According to a report in Daily Mail, Philippe Coutinho is on top of the transfer agenda for Barcelona yet again. The Blaugrana are set to make another move for the Liverpool playmaker in the winter transfer window, and are plotting a £120 million to finally land him.
Coutinho has been one of the most instrumental players for Liverpool over the last few seasons, taking on the mantle of leading the Reds’ attack since the departure of Steven Gerrard. Coming off the back of his most productive campaign in the 2016-17 season – 13 goals and 7 assists in 31 Premier League games – the player’s stock skyrocketed.
Indeed, some of the biggest clubs in the world were linked with Coutinho in the summer. But, Barcelona hotly pursued him throughout the transfer window. Although, Liverpool rebuffed all of their approaches, and rejected three bids despite the Brazilian handing a transfer request to push through a move.
However, Barcelona have not ended their interest in the 25-year-old just yet, with the club’s Chief Executive Oscar Grau claiming that the Catalan club is ready to make a fresh bid for him in the winter transfer window.
#Barcelona chief executive Oscar Grau says his club are prepared to make another attempt to sign #Liverpool‘s Brazil midfielder #Coutinho pic.twitter.com/NnArCLCxlH
— Bookmakers Review (@bookmakersnews) October 12, 2017
“We are ready to buy Coutinho in the winter market, or any player the technical staff request. But it is important to adjust ourselves, so if there are to be arrivals, there must be exits.”
Indeed, widespread reports have claimed that Barcelona are eager to not repeat the mistake they made in replacing Xavi upon his departure in 2015. They have, thus, started laying the succession plans for Andres Iniesta, even though he recently signed a lifetime deal at Camp Nou.
Therefore, Barcelona have been targeting Coutinho as a long-term successor to Iniesta. Now set to renew their interest in the player, the Blaugrana are planning a £120 million January bid to finally lure Coutinho to Camp Nou.
As per the report though, Liverpool will not change their stance on the player and are said to be furious at Grau for making his comment on Coutinho as that could potentially unsettle the player. The Brazilian, however, is unlikely to hand another transfer request in January, having not shown any signs of being affected by the speculation.
Therefore, Barcelona could be forced to wait until next summer in order to land Coutinho, although it remains to be seen if they are able to succeed in their pursuit of the player in January itself.
If they are forced to wait until next summer, they could well have PSG for company in pursuit of Coutinho, with recent reports stating that Les Parisiens are interested in signing him next summer. For now though, Barcelona are set to test Liverpool’s resolve with a January bid.
