According to a report by Mundo Deportivo, FC Barcelona are ready to sell their Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho at a loss of €100 million. The Catalans are desperate to load off Coutinho this summer, following which they have priced the player at €20 million.
Barcelona are in a poor condition in terms of their financial situation, the club is in a debt of €1 billion due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following this issue, the Catalans are forced to sell as many players as possible this summer to cut off their budget. Barcelona have already made a long list of players who are available for transfer, and Philippe Coutinho is at the top.
The Catalans signed the midfielder from Liverpool back in 2018 for a record fee of €120 million. At first, Coutinho showed a promising performance, but he couldn’t continue that form for the past two seasons. He was mostly out of the team after suffering frequent injuries during the season. Coutinho has only able to appeared 90 times for Barcelona in which he scored only 23 goals in all competitions. He was also out from the team since December, after suffering a knee injury.
Following his poor form and mainly because of his high wage, Barcelona are desperate to sell him this summer. It was believed that the Catalans will be wanting a fee of around €35-40 million for Coutinho. But as per the latest reports, Barcelona have decided to sell the midfielder at a price of €20 million in the summer transfer window.
Which clubs are interested in investing 20 million for Coutinho?
Despite being labeled as a flop transfer by football pundits, Coutinho has been able to attract a decent amount of clubs. While the 20 million asking price by Barcelona is a bonus for the clubs who are interested to sign the midfielder this summer.
First, AC Milan are the latest to join the race for signing the attacking midfielder. The Italian side are looking for a midfielder after seeing Hakan Calhanoglu leave for their rivals Inter Milan. It was reported that the Rossoneri will offer a loan deal to the Catalans for signing Coutinho. But after the pricing of €20 million, it seems they are ready to sign the midfielder by offering some cash.
The second club in the race is Everton, the toffees are also looking for midfield reinforcement. Everton are facing an uncertain future regarding James Rodriguez as the player desires to leave this summer. Following which the toffees have to load of some cash in order to replace Rodriguez for the next season. And Everton have identified Coutinho for that role due to his cheap pricing by Barcelona.
The third club to join the race for Coutinho is another Premier League team, Arsenal. The Gunners are having a busy summer as they look to improve next season. Arsenal have already lost Martin Odegaard, as the player left the club after his loan deal expired. Following which they are on a hunt for adding a midfielder next season. And Mikel Arteta seems to have eyed Philippe Coutinho for that position next season.
So, let’s wait and see if Barcelona could sell their flop signing this summer or not. And which among these three clubs will be able to land Coutinho for €20 million in the next season.
