Philippe Coutinho closes in on a move to Spanish side Barcelona.
After Neymar’s exit from the club, Barcelona have stepped up their pursuit of Liverpool striker Philippe Coutinho as latest reports emerge saying that the Spanish club directors are in England to close the deal. The Catalans will hope that Coutinho gets to start in the upcoming El Clasico this weekend.
According to reports, Oscar Grau, Raul Sanllehi and Javier Bordas have already arrived in England to close the deal. A third bid is being planned for the 25-year old now.
Barca have already made two bids for the Brazilian even though Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted throughout the summer transfer window that Coutinho is not up for sale. Barcelona have increased the bid on him to £120m after their Neymar was bought by French club Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in a record 222 million euros deal.
The Spanish giants have almost doubled their bid which was originally at £70m. It was, however, rejected by the Premier League club.
In a report by Mirror, Barcelona are even ready to offer a player to get their hands on Coutinho, who remains the club’s first choice for a replacement to Neymar. The player being offered in exchange is reportedly Andre Gomes, who joined the club from Valencia in 2016 but failed to impress in the one season he stayed with Los Blancos.
