Barcelona have been given hope in their long-running pursuit of Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, with Mundo Deportivo reporting that the Reds could let the Brazilian playmaker leave in January, so says the Daily Mail.
The Catalan giants have tried to sign Coutinho all summer, failing with numerous bids as a result of Liverpool’s insistence to keep the forward. A £138m offer was rumoured back in August, but the Merseysiders held firm.
After Barcelona sold Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for £200m in the summer, the La Liga club had been desperately trying to replace his goal and assists. They signed Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele, but a thigh injury has ruled him out until 20187, meaning they’re likely to shop again for a forward.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp did admit players who no longer want to remain at Anfield could be allowed to leave. “In general, as a club, we have to create a situation in which players want to be part of everything they have,” he said.
“At this point, we have this. Nobody thinks about January, nobody thinks about June or July. Everyone wants to be part of this, but there will be transfer windows and we will see what happens.”
Barcelona are currently top of the Spanish La Liga table with 25 points from nine games this season, coming off the back of five consecutive home wins. They’ve scored 26 goals for their troubles and may not be in desperate need of a new attacking face.
However, with Coutinho having been linked with the Spanish outfit years ago, it’s likely they won’t stop until the Brazilian is at the Nou Camp. He’s had a decent start to the new season, scoring and creating seven goals in nine appearances in all competitions for Liverpool after recovering from an apparent back injury.
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