Philippe Coutinho is ‘close’ to a transfer to Barcelona, according to the Catalan club’s general manager Pep Segura.
If Coutinho’s been watching the Supercopa de España, you’d think he’s doing everything in his power not to to be sold to Barcelona.
Not according to Barcelona general manager Pep Segura.
Speaking after Barcelona’s 2-0 loss to Real Madrid – 5-1 on aggregate – Segura told Catalan TV channel TV3: “We are close to (signing) Coutinho and Dembélé. We are discussing their deals but do not know when it will be done.”
Asked if he was now expectant that they will sign, he added: “Yes, we expect it.”
The Reds have so far rejected two bids from the European giants – believed to be worth £72m and £90m – and remain adamant that no amount of money will see him sold. Owners FSG released a statement last Friday maintaining their stance on the Brazilian, declaring:
“We wish to offer clarity as regards our position on a possible transfer of Philippe Coutinho. The club’s definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes.”
Unfortunately, this only saw the player respond by submitting a formal transfer request.
The Express report that Dortmund’s Dembélé is already packing his bags ahead of a move to Spain but the Liverpool media have maintained that the club will not entertain any offers for their star player who signed a new five-year deal back in January.
It remains to be seen what course of action Coutinho takes next but this transfer window will likely have given him a worrying amount of inspiration.
Dembélé disappeared for a weekend, Virgil van Dijk has now refused to train or play for Southampton and Guinean midfielder Naby Keïta was so desperate to move to Merseyside he kneecapped a teammate in training.
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