With Philippe Coutinho being back in the transfer market, this time it’s Chelsea who’ve been heavily linked to the Brazilian star.
The latest updates we’ve covered on the saga say the Blues are ‘main candidates’ for the Barcelona player, and that talks are ‘well underway’. And even a swap including N’Golo Kante is being mentioned.
But these rumours may now slow down a little bit, because it looks like there’s a chance the Catalan side may want to count on Coutinho for the next season.
The possibility has been claimed by Barça manager Quique Setien in an interview with RAC1 this week. The coach hasn’t only said that he’d be an expensive player for other clubs to sign, but also said his future is still to be defined.
“I think Coutinho is a great player, I really like him. He’s a player who is originally of Barcelona. You have to pay the clause or pay a sum to Barça,” said Setien.
“And also that he wants to return. I reckon he can be here at the beginning of next season. I have to speak to him to ask him. If necessary I will speak to him.”
It’s AS who covers these quotes, and they add that Arsenal and Chelsea are the clubs who’ve been most interested. They also include the rumours about the swap for Kante, although there isn’t any update on that situation so far.
