BARCELONA will hope to flog Philippe Coutinho in January to raise much-needed cash, according to reports.
The cash-strapped Catalan giants are open to selling big-name players to help balance the books following the coronavirus pandemic.
Barcelona are ready to cash in on Philippe CoutinhoCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Coutinho spent last season on loan with Bayern Munich but returned to the Nou Camp in the summer in the hope of reigniting his career with Barca.
He has made seven league starts under Ronald Koeman, scoring twice but has again failed to live up to his £108million price-tag.
Now Sport report how Barcelona are willing to cut their losses and could be prepared to accept half of what they paid.
Barcelona players have been forced to accept pay cuts in order to save the club from financial ruin.
Barcelona had seen their debts double over the course of the 2019-20 season due to the lockdown.
The club has recently been hit with a wage cap of £342m – with the club previously allowed to spend up to £601.5m – a drop of 43 per cent.
Coutinho’s availability is set to spark interest from Arsenal who looked to land him in the summer.
Koeman blocked the move as he wanted to make Coutinho a key part of his plans going forward.
But the Dutchman is now willing to let him leave with Antoine Griezmann, Pedri and Lionel Messi suitable of playing in the No10 position.
Arsenal chief Edu hinted the club will look to land a creative player in January and said on Thursday: “It’s quite clear what we need. We need a player with creativity in the middle, we don’t have that in the squad right now.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
