JANUARY TRANSFER : Barcelona to table £133m for Coutinho

The Spanish giant, Barcelona are set to table a £133million bid to lure their primary target Philippe Coutinho away from Anfield this month.The Catalan giants saw three sizeable bids – the biggest of which was worth £114m – for the Brazilian playmaker rebuffed last summer, despite the player handing in a transfer request.

But, according to Mundo Deportivo, Barca are set to revisit the option this month with an offer of almost £100m – with £36m to be offered in add-ons to make the deal more attractive to the Reds.

Barca feel the player’s desire to move to the Nou Camp will work in their favour and the Spanish outlet claims president Josep Maria Bartomeu is in constant contact with the Premier League club.

The bid would be in line with what Barcelona offered Borussia Dortmund for Ousmane Dembele last summer in the wake of Neymar’s record-breaking departure to Paris Saint-Germain.

In a poll by another Spanish magazine, Sport, Barca fans were asked to vote for which player they would like their club to sign next.The Brazil international comfortably topped the poll, earning 70 per cent of the vote – 52 per cent more than closest rival Yerry Mina, the Palmeiras centre back.

Despite Nike’s online store appearing to suggest Coutinho’s move to Barcelona was imminent after inviting customers to ‘Shop Coutinho’s look’, the club has denied that a deal has already been struck.They will, however, endeavour in earnest to make the 25-year-old their next superstar signing this month.

(guardian)