Tottenham's Philippe Coutinho links played down amid Dybala deal rumours

Posted Wednesday, August 07, 2019 by 101 GREAT GOALS

The reliable Alisdair Gold of Football.London has this evening provided an update on the links between Tottenham and Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho.

Barca exit incoming?

On the back of a disappointing campaign with the Blaugrana last time out, Brazilian attacker Coutinho has been hotly-tipped for a Camp Nou departure this summer.

Ligue 1 giants PSG were previously viewed as the former Liverpool man's most-likely destination, with a high-profile swap deal involving Neymar having even been touted:

| 😬 |

"Pep Segura (Barca GM) told me they don't want to sell Coutinho. However, Barcelona's adviser in Brazil... has been pushing for Coutinho to be included in a deal to bring Neymar back from PSG." - Joorabchian (RMC)#FCB's most expensive signing || https://t.co/B9IVwSYVLg pic.twitter.com/vBScteLAYW
— Eleven Sports (@ElevenSports_UK) 14 July 2019

PL bound?

The last 48 hours, though, have seen rumours of a potential Premier League return for Coutinho ramp up.

Surprise reports stemming from France today even went as far as to state that a loan move to Unai Emery's Arsenal was on the verge of completion:

Info @lequipe : Philippe Coutinho (FC Barcelone) vers Arsenal. Le milieu offensif brésilien devrait faire l’objet d’un prêt au club londonien https://t.co/GRdPl9h6rD via @lequipe
— Bilel Ghazi (@BilelGhazi) 6 August 2019

Such claims appear to have jumped the gun, though.

Further updates over the course of the evening have seen Arsenal's north London rivals Spurs named as clear front-runners in the Coutinho chase.

Sky Sports and a number of other high-profile outlets almost simultaneously suggested that Mauricio Pochettino's men were closing on a season-long loan deal for the 27-year-old.

'Don't believe there's much in Coutinho links'

As per the aforementioned report from Alisdair Gold, regarded as highly-reliable when it comes to Spurs news, however, links to Coutinho appear to be little more than a smokescreen on the part of the capital outfit's board, as they 'try to get other deals done':

I don't believe there's much in the Coutinho links from a Spurs perspective. Seems more like noise while they try to get other deals done. Spurs weren't looking for a Ceballos loan so aren't likely to pay mega money for another one, regardless of how good the older Coutinho is.
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) 6 August 2019

And such a viewpoint would certainly appear to be in line with the latest reports surrounding Tottenham's work on the transfer market, spreading across Europe this evening.

According to Italian transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio, a 70 million Euro deal has been clinched between the Premier League club and Italian champions Juventus, over Paulo Dybala.

As such, it is now down to Spurs to find an agreement with the Argentine:

Adesso è il @SpursOfficial su @PauDybala_JR: intesa con la @juventusfc e ora si tratta col giocatore/agente. Tutto ora su @SkySport 24 #calciomercato
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) 6 August 2019