From Barcelona: Liverpool hold power on Coutinho and Lemar, Jorge Mendes involved

 

Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo say it’s the ‘final sprint’ for Barcelona’s transfer efforts, despite the Spanish window closing on Friday.

They go further and state these are ‘decisive hours’ for Barcelona, with four targets for their big signing.

First up is of course Philippe Coutinho, but Liverpool hold the power.

Mundo Deportivo say the Premier League club are still refusing, which leads Barcelona to their back-up plans.

Thomas Lemar, Paulo Dybala, and Antoine Griezmann then come into the picture.

There’s still hope in Barcelona that Liverpool will come to the table, but it’s stated they’ll do so after making all their own signings, ready to ‘play’ with the efforts of the Catalan club.

As a back-up, Barcelona have activated routes to all their other options, and that’s where Jorge Mendes comes in.

Mendes’ AS Monaco contacts are keeping Barcelona aware of what’s happening with Liverpool and Lemar, and Mundo Deportivo go on to say: ‘Barca is convinced that if the English club sign Lemar then they will respond in the end to Barca’s offer for Coutinho.’

With Lemar looking like Barcelona’s first alternative, Liverpool are very much in the driving seat. If Jurgen Klopp gets Lemar, then Barca feel they can get Coutinho, and if he doesn’t then Lemar could be moving to Spain.

Juventus have told Barca there’s no chance over Dybala, and Atletico referred to Griezmann’s clause, which is €200m this summer due to the transfer ban.