Barcelona set an asking price for Philippe Coutinho
Barcelona will have no hesitation in parting company with former Liverpool forward Philippe Coutinho if their demands are fulfilled.
Barcelona made a huge statement in the transfer window last winter by signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in a reported transfer fee of 142 million euros. The left winger had a good start to life at the Camp Nou and did a decent job in his first six months, but the 2018/19 campaign has seen him struggle in maintaining form and winning over the manager. Probably, he is still unsettled in Spain.
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Ousmane Dembele has emerged as a top forward this season and has directly been involved in 18 goals this season across all competitions. The France international does better on the left wing than Coutinho, and the left midfielder’s role has been cemented in favour of the Brazilian’s compatriot Arthur Melo who has flourished since arriving in Catalonia and has done a magnificent job.
There has been speculation about his future in Spain and there have been rumours that Barcelona will be ready to cash in on him so as to fund a blockbuster return for Neymar in the summer from Paris Saint-Germain. Express UK has reported that the Catalans will demand 100 million euros from whichever team that wishes to buy him and Manchester United have initiated contact with the Brazil international’s agent.
The potential asking fee means that Barcelona will be at a loss of nearly one-third of the transfer fee which they spent on Coutinho just a year ago. His release clause is 355 million pounds, but Barcelona will be ready to let him go for cheap in order to stock their bank accounts to pay Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar. Football and transfer expert at ESPN in Aymoral said:
"“A deal looks rather unlikely in January, since the Blaugrana would want more than €100 million to even consider the departure of the crown jewel of their transfer campaign last winter.”"
Next. Messi and Suarez seek to drive Dembele out of Barcelona. dark
Manchester United are reportedly interested in bringing in the former Liverpool forward but it looks very unlikely that the move will go through even in the upcoming summer. The Red Devils have other areas to strengthen, especially their defence and creative stations and the investment for that is going to be huge. And as Aymoral stated, Barcelona will not sell their star man for such a cheap price.