Coutinho, substitute or bait for Neymar?

Barcelona push hard to sign Liverpool player

Posted Thursday, July 27, 2017 by Marca.com

Barcelona are working on a two-pronged strategy that involves trying to seduce Neymar on one hand to stay while on the other to bring in Liverpool's Coutinho as a replacement if he does in the end leave for Paris Saint Germain.

The Catalan club are negotiating with the agent of the Liverpool midfielder with those two options on the table and according to RAC1, the agreement with Coutinho has already been finalised.

However, the Reds will not let him depart easily this summer as they are keen to retain their prized asset going forward.

Coutinho, substitute or bait for Neymar?

If Neymar leaves the Camp Nou, Barcelona would need to have an attacker in their ranks who would be a guarantee on the left wing and not a gamble with Coutinho filling that requirement, while if he stays then they could still use the Liverpool man in a deeper central role.

Coutinho could offer competition for places in midfield with Andres Iniesta entering the twilight of his career and Arda Turan set to leave having failed to settle in. Last season Coutinho scored 13 goals in 31 Premier League games while he also has 26 caps for Brazil.

Even though there is a good relationship between Barca and Liverpool dating back to the transfer of Luis Suarez, the Merseyside club are still seeking 80 million euros for Coutinho who renewed his contract until 2022.