The notion of Philippe Coutinho moving to Barcelona has always been an itchy, scratchy little thing you can’t quite get shot of. Nimble-footed, quick-thinking, dynamic playmaker doing well at a big Premier League club – all boxes ticked. Mates with a certain former team-mate now turning it on in Catalonia – another box ticked. So there’s always been a fairly unsurprising hum around that potential connection but now that hum has turned into a loud and, if you are of an Anfield persuasion, decidedly unseemly bellow. Things have got real on this one, with Barça dangling a reported £72m under Jürgen Klopp’s nostrils and seeing him as a medium-term replacement for the ageing, albeit still absolutely brilliant, Andrés Iniesta. No dice, Liverpool are expected to say – and they might well say that having seen RB Leipzig resolutely flat-bat their own move for Naby Keïta – but you wouldn’t necessarily expect the cuddly La Liga runners-up to stop there.
Liverpool will rubber-stamp a new arrival of their own, though, in the form of the Hull left-back Andy Robertson – who has had his vital signs checked and should be unveiled soon enough. It should mean Sevilla or Napoli can get their paws on the unwanted, unloved Alberto Moreno.
A transfer that seemingly won’t be happening is any transfer involving Mesut Özil. Back to your bedrooms, compilers of YouTube two-yard assist showreels, because he appears to be staying with Arsenal – with an eye-watering £280,000-a-week deal close to agreement. Will that have a knock-on effect where Alexis Sánchez is concerned? Possibly, although the smart money is currently on his seeing out one more year with the Gunners before taking flight elsewhere.
Manchester City are one of Sánchez’s more plausible suitors, but could Arsenal be about to turn the tables? They and transfer window abstainers Tottenham are interested in Jadon Sancho, who is considered the best of City’s current youth crop but is fretting about a lack of likely opportunities at the Etihad and may be about to jump ship. Sancho hasn’t signed a new contract with City and punishment came in the form of being cut from their pre-season trip to the US. He won’t want a Dominic Solanke-style season sitting on the sidelines – but will the 17-year-old forward find a pathway more to his liking in north London?
Another fleet-footed attacker who could be up for grabs is Riyad Mahrez, who Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare has admitted was subject of a bid from Roma. But it wasn’t enough, and West Brom will be of similar mind if Swansea come in for Nacer Chadli – who is seen as a potential replacement for the possibly Everton-bound Gylfi Sigurdsson.
A rumour from the Championship finishes this morning’s rapid-fire salvo from the Mill. Leeds United are keen on taking Álvaro Negredo, who of course spent last season on loan at Middlesbrough, from Valencia as they plot their latest bid to return to the big time. We’ll hazard a guess that Coutinho has more chance of playing in La Liga next season.
