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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Sam Few

Barcelona 'hanging on' for late transfer bid for Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona have prioritised selling Philippe Coutinho this summer - but they have not received a single bid for the playmaker.

There are just eight days remaining before the summer window slams shut in England and the Catalan giants are concerned there won't be any interest shown by Premier League clubs.

Coutinho joined Barcelona from Liverpool for €120million, plus an extra €40million in possible add-ons, just 18 months ago. The Spanish giants would be prepared to sell for €105million but could struggle to find someone willing to fork out that sum.

Chelsea were linked with a move for the 27-year-old however, confirmation of their transfer ban ruled them out of the race. Rumours about a return to Anfield did the rounds but never amounted to anything.

Klopp ruled out Liverpool making a bid to re-sign Coutinho this summer (PA)

Speaking to ESPN earlier this month, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp addressed speculation about Coutinho and ruled out a move for their former player.

He said: "In general, Coutinho helps each team in the world, still 100 percent. It's not about that. I like Phil, I think he's a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it's not our year for that.

"It's just not possible. As I said, having him would make each team better - us included - but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona."

Amid the uncertainty about Paul Pogba 's future, Barcelona were quietly hoping that Manchester United might be tempted to approach them for Coutinho. However, no such interest has materialised and Pogba still remains at Old Trafford.

If Neymar returns to Barca, Coutinho might have a future at PSG (PSG via Getty Images)

In another scenario, Barca's hopes of moving Coutinho on could rest with Paris Saint-Germain as the French window remains open until 2nd September.

They could use the Brazilian as bait to secure Neymar 's return to the Nou Camp and sources close to the Spanish outfit say they would be willing to sell if PSG met Coutinho's valuation.

Barca were hoping to accumulate around €150million from Coutinho, Rafinha and Malcom with their transfer model seeing them rely heavily on player sales.

Neymar's future could decide that of Coutinho who faces an anxious wait to discover where he will be playing his club football in the coming months.

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