Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has claimed that despite reports coming out of his country, Barcelona will not sign Coutinho in January, with Liverpool’s ‘not for sale’ stance unchanged.
Barcelona are desperate to sign our Brazilian, but he has no release-clause and with four and a half years left on his contract, we’re in the position of power.
Antoine Griezmann, their other top target, has a €10om release-clause which can be activated in the summer, but Barca are not confident of capturing Liverpool’s no.10.
“Liverpool don’t want to sell Coutinho,” Balague told Sky Sports.
“That’s where they stand right now, so Barcelona are not optimistic about the possibility of Coutinho going there.
“Obviously they will try and they want to make an offer in January, but even Coutinho’s entourage are thinking it probably won’t happen, because Liverpool are saying the same as what they said in the summer: ‘We are not interested in selling’.”
Until next summer at least, Coutinho will remain a red.
He scored his 11th of the campaign against Arsenal on Friday night, meaning he’s on track for a 20-goal season – incredible considering he’s been used predominantly in midfield this term.
We’re fourth in the Premier League and still in the Champions League, meaning there’s quite literally everything to play for.