La Liga giants Barcelona’s interest in Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho is no secret — and it comes as no surprise that after failing to land the player in the summer transfer window, the Catalan club are preparing to make another move for the Brazilian.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde made numerous offers to Liverpool for Coutinho in the summer, but the Reds refused to sell, despite Coutinho’s desire to join the Nou Camp club.
Now, Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claim that Coutinho will ask manager Jurgen Klopp for permission to leave the club who fought so hard to keep him during the summer transfer window.
Mundo Deportivo’s report also states that Valverde and Barcelona will have to sell before they can bid for Coutinho, with right wing-back Aleix Vidal and central midfielder Arda Turan two of the names touted for the axe to make way for Coutinho.
Coutinho joined Liverpool from Serie A side Inter Milan in 2013 for a now-miniscule fee of £8.5 million — to put that into perspective, Barcelona were offering over £100 million for the very same player in the summer, just four years after his switch to Merseyside.
The Brazilian has made 190 Liverpool appearances to date, scoring 46 goals.
