Barcelona’s battle to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool continues, with the Premier League club refusing to simply fall into line with the deal.
Keen to gloss over the exit of Neymar to PSG, Barcelona are willing to pay over the odds for Coutinho, but Liverpool also have face to save.
In normal circumstances, €130m would likely be considered enough for the Brazilian, but it’s the end of the transfer window, and whether this deal happens or not will do a lot for the perception of Liverpool as a football club.
It’s not just Coutinho who is the subject of a tussle between Liverpool and Barcelona. Spanish newspaper Marca report that both are keen on Nice midfielder Jean-Michel Seri.
Nice have put a €40m price-tag on Seri, which could be considered reasonable given he was the best midfielder in France’s Ligue 1 last season.
Barcelona don’t want to go to that price, and Marca believe there’s a chance Seri could leave Nice for less.
Liverpool and Arsenal interest is mentioned, providing competition.
If Jurgen Klopp pushes his Anfield bosses to go in for the full €40m, then Barcelona could find themselves beaten.
