Last week, we covered claims made in the Spanish press that Arsenal ‘enter the fight’ for Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho.
It was also suggested the Gunners qualifying for next season’s Champions League could help them land the 29-year-old, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa.
The attacking midfielder arrived at Villa Park in the winter market and has had an instant impact, managing four goals and three assists in 10 league appearances so far.
Coutinho’s fine displays for Steven Gerrard’s side have caught the attention of the north London club and this is again discussed by Mundo Deportivo.
It’s said Arsenal have ‘have positioned’ themselves to sign the Brazil international in the summer.
Barcelona took the player from Liverpool in January 2018 and still have €40m of the fee left to be amortised. With a contract expiring in 2023, the report states they are looking at the same figure to permanently cut ties with him after this season.
The ‘main stumbling block’ to carry out the operation is Coutinho’s high wages. This figure, although not made public, is speculated to be around €24m gross per year.Barca sources have informed Mundo the ex-Reds star always did his part to take a pay cut while going out on loan to Bayern Munich in 2019 and Villa in January.
The report further states Coutinho ‘gives the facilities to solve his future’, which suggests he’ll take a pay cut.
With Mikel Arteta’s side positioning themselves to sign Coutinho, his willingness to resolve his future could come as encouragement for Arsenal to secure his services.
