Barcelona are preparing to send further shock waves throughout Liverpool by intensifying their pursuit of Philippe Coutinho and returning with a second offer.
The Spanish side recently tabled an opening bid of £72million for the Brazilian, which was instantly rejected by the Reds and met with an insistence that the player will not be sold this summer.
Despite speculation linking him to the Catalan giants in recent months, Coutinho has only recently been identified as a key target as a result of Neymar’s possible world record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
The La Liga outfit will now come back with an increased offer of £80million as they look to put Liverpool’s resolve to the test, according to the Mirror.
Regardless of Barcelona’s spending power, the Reds have continued to reiterate with some seriousness and intent that the No.10 simply won’t be sold.
Coutinho finds himself central to Jurgen Klopp’s plans on Merseyside and facing the biggest season in his career so far, in which he will be expected to play an influential role in helping Liverpool challenge for the Premier League title.
It will also potentially be a valuable opportunity to show his worth on the European stage, providing his side gets through the upcoming Champions League playoff clash, scheduled for August.
Klopp himself has already told his star man to brush aside any ambitions he may have to play for Barcelona and has been quick to reaffirm that Liverpool are not a selling club.
Saturday’s Asia Trophy final win over Leicester saw Coutinho go someway towards proving he is worth more than £72million as he put on a first half masterclass, which included scoring a spectacular winning goal.
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(Video) Philippe Coutinho scores absolute stunner against Leicester