Philippe Coutinho: Chelsea make contact with Barcelona over £100m transfer

Posted Sunday, January 20, 2019 by Express.co.uk

Philippe Coutinho: Chelsea make contact with Barcelona over £100m transfer
Philippe Coutinho: Chelsea have made a move for the Barcelona ace (Image: GETTY)

CHELSEA have asked Barcelona to keep them in touch with any plans they have to offload former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho.

The Catalan side paid £142million for Coutinho last January and he won La Liga and the Copa del Rey honours in his first few months.

But his dream move to the Camp Nou has turned into a nightmare and he is struggling to hold down a place in Ernesto Valverde's starting line up.

He has dropped below Ousmane Dembele in the pecking order and it has led Manchester United to make an enquiry about his services.

Barca are believed to be willing to sell Coutinho to fund a potential reunion for Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain who need to meet Financial Fair Play regulations.

Chelsea have been quoted around £100 million for Coutinho but haven’t baulked at the fee and are ready to rival United with their attempts to return him to the Premier League.

Coutinho has been in and out of the Barcelona team this season - only starting 10 La Liga games - but has been more involved of late.

He is determined to make things work in Spain but is believed to be open to a move in the summer should things fail to improve.

Coutinho has recently had a second child in Spain and likes the lifestyle and the city.

But he has struggled with the football side of things having dropped out of the team on occasions.

Ernesto Valverde has challenged him to improve and become a focal part of the team after he was signed to help replace Neymar and Andres Iniesta.

Dembele’s run of form has put him back in the team with Coutinho confined to the sidelines, but the Brazilian played in recent wins over Levante and Eibar, and is making a claim for a regular place.

Jurgen Klopp ruled out making a move for Coutinho when speaking yesterday after being asked about the situation.

“That is something I don't want to talk about. I would not say it is a potential transfer or a likely one,” Klopp said.

“Nothing to say. Whatever I say would open more stories and there is no story.

“Phil is at Barcelona and as I know he fits really well and everything is fine.”

Meanwhile Chelsea are set to wrap up the signing of Gonzalo Higuain this weekend.