Philippe Coutinho 'has no place in first team' says expert
Barcelona have set a deadline for the departure of playmaker Philippe Coutinho, reports claim. The Catalan giants want to balance their books for the last financial year and are prepared to accept a substantial loss on the 28-year-old.
Barcelona signed the 61-cap Brazil international from Liverpool in January 2018 for an initial £105million that could potentially rise to £142m after various clauses are triggered.
But despite scoring 21 goals and providing 11 assists in 76 appearances for Barcelona - Coutinho was soon shipped out to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
The versatile winger arrived at the Allianz Arena on a season-long loan and Bayern had the option to make the deal permanent for £108m.
The Bavarian heavyweights have decided against adding Coutinho to their ranks - leading to speculation that a Premier League return is on the cards.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Tottenham and Newcastle have all been tipped to challenge for his signature in the upcoming transfer window.
And the quintet have received a significant boost after the latest reports from Spain.
Newspaper Sport claim Barcelona want to balance the books by June 30.
They have also slashed Coutinho's asking price from £81m to £63.2m to accelerate his departure as the player's £240,000-a-week wages could price problematic.
Coutinho's agent Kia Joorabchian recently revealed his client wants to return to England.
Transfer News: Barcelona are prepared to sell Philippe Coutinho for £63m (Image: GETTY)
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“He has a desire to come back to the Premier League at some point,” Joorabchian told Sky Sports.
“It may not happen this year, it may happen this year, we don’t know. We really have not discussed anything for now.”
Barcelona are also actively trying to sell goalkeeper Neto and centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo.
Everton are said to have tabled an offer worth £18m plus a further £4.5m in performance-related add-ons for the defender but Quique Setien's side are waiting to see if a better offer comes in.