Barcelona need to sell five players in order to sign Coutinho

Barcelona may need to sell at least five players during the January window if they want to sign Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho.

The Daily Mail reports that Barcelona’s wage bill is currently too high to accommodate the potential arrival of the Brazilian in January.

According to the report, El Mundo Deportivo columnist Miguel Rico highlighted the problems that Barcelona are facing.

If Barcelona don’t bring the wage bill down from the 84 per cent mark, they cannot sign Coutinho even if Liverpool let him leave for free.

After being linked with a move to the Nou Camp throughout the summer, Barcelona are interested in a January move after failing to agree a deal in the previous window.

Players such as Arda Turan, Thomas Vermaelen, Aleix Vidal and striker Paco Alcacer are all no longer needed at the club, but the Catalan side are struggling to offload them.

One-time Liverpool target Andre Gomes is also being linked with a move away from the Nou Camp. The Portuguese international has attracted interest from Juventus, Tottenham and West Ham in the past.