Tottenham have thrown their hat into the ring to sign Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho on loan.
Mauricio Pochettino is keen to add the Brazil star to his new-look midfield after the former Liverpool star’s representatives began contacting Premier League clubs to see if they were interested.
Pochettino worked briefly with Coutinho when the 27-year-old was at Espanyol.
With interest across Europe in the player - and his £200,000-a-week wages - Spurs know they are underdogs in the race to sign him but are hopeful of pulling off a coup.
The north Londoners are also in advanced talks to sign Fulham left-back Ryan Sessegnon for around £25million ahead of Thursday's deadline.
But success with the Coutinho deal would be another of chairman Daniel Levy's trademark end-of-window triumphs.
It would enable Spurs to allow Christian Eriksen to leave with Manchester United heading the queue to sign the Denmark international.
Eriksen has not been in Pochettino’s long-term plans since making clear he was up for a new challenge at the end of last season.
Barca would prefer to sell Coutinho but are ready allow Coutinho to leave the Nou Camp - after spending most of the summer insisting they wanted to keep him.
The La Liga title holders are likely to want around £21million for the temporary arrangement.
Coutinho has endured a difficult 18 months in Spain after forcing a move from Liverpool for a staggering £142million.
Jurgen Klopp is understood not to want him back while neither Manchester United nor City are said to be interested.
Arsenal have made clear they are not targeting Coutinho after being strongly linked with him in France and Spain.
The Gunners are understood to be targeting a central defender ahead of Thursday's deadline while Chelsea currently have a transfer ban.
It is not yet clear whether Coutinho’s signing would affect their bid to sign either Sporting midfielder Bruno Fernandes or Real Betis goal machine Gio Lo Celso.
Sporting want around £55million for Fernandes while Betis are refusing to accept less than £70million for Lo Celso. Spurs want only one of the pair.
