Barcelona are reportedly interested in offering Philippe Coutinho to Tottenham Hotspur, in exchange for a transfer fee and a Spurs defender. The Catalans are desperate to sell the Brazilian, who joined from Liverpool in 2018.
As per Sport, the La Liga giants want to sign a centre-back or a left-back and are willing to let Coutinho leave for a fee of £55 million and a defender worth £25 million. They are interested in offering this deal to Chelsea as well. Newcastle United, meanwhile, who are also interested in Coutinho, are willing to pay £80 million upfront.
Philippe Coutinho, who is currently on loan at German side, Bayern Munich, will not sign for the Bundesliga club. The Brazilian has had a tough time at Barca since his £105 million move to the club from Liverpool.
Player plus cash deal for Philippe Coutinho: A non-starter?
Philippe Coutinho, before moving to Barcelona in 2018, was in supreme form for Liverpool and was a vital part of the Reds’ team. His move to the Spanish club hasn’t worked at all for him, while his subsequent loan spell to Bayern has been average, at best.
The Brazilian could perhaps reinvigorate his form in a league where he excelled – the Premier League. Spurs would welcome a player of Coutinho’s calibre, who could form a devasting front line with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. A fee of £55 million seems like a good gamble to take for manager Jose Mourinho, but there may be some difficulty in finding a defender in the Spurs ranks that Barca would be interested in – and worth £25 million.
Danny Rose and Ben Davies are the two left-back options that Spurs could use, but neither are good enough for Barca. 20-year-old Ryan Sessegnon, who was signed by Spurs last summer, was monitored by Barcelona before his switch to the North London club. He can play at left-back, but Mourinho would not want to allow a player with the potential of Sessegnon to leave the club.
Jan Vertonghen is set to leave the club at the end of the current season when his contract expires, while Juan Foyth is not valued at £25 million. That leaves Spurs with just Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sánchez as the two negotiating pieces in this transfer puzzle. The former has signed a new contract, while the latter is valued way more than £25 million.
Spurs may not have the right type of player that Barcelona want to get the Coutinho deal over the line, and we feel this rumour might end up being a non-starter.