Liverpool place £75.5m price tag on attacker ahead of summer window – report

Wed 10 May 2017 19:18, UK

By Aramide Oladipo

Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho will be allowed to leave Anfield if the Merseyside club receive an offer worth £75.5million, according to a report.

The Catalan based newspaper Sport claim that Barcelona want to bring Coutinho to the Camp Nou but Liverpool have slapped a massive price tag on the table which could see the Catalan side cool their interest.

Sport also claimed that the Brazilian is open to a move to the reigning La Liga champions and he’s told his associates to start talks with the Catalan club.

Coutinho has reportedly already turned down a big-money offer from French club Paris Saint-Germain because he’s determined to win important trophies and he’s also been assured that he’ll be a first-team regular at the Camp Nou due to his versatility.

However, Liverpool’s asking price could make the Catalan club take a step back and it’s reported that negotiations will begin in the summer once the season has finished.

The Brazilian playmaker has been a sensational player for Liverpool ever since he joined the club from Inter Milan in 2013, scoring 31 goals and providing 28 assists in 136 Premier League appearances.

Football Insider verdict:

It’s clear that Liverpool are doing everything within their power to keep one of their best assets at the club. There’s no doubt that Coutinho’s head will be turned by Barcelona’s interest so the main priority for the Merseyside club from now until the end of the season should be securing Champions League football for the following campaign. Liverpool have been in this situation before – despite finishing runners up in the 2013/14 Premier League season, Luis Suárez left and joined Barcelona for a fee around €80m. It’s highly unlikely that Barcelona have the funds to match Liverpool’s asking price for the Brazilian following contract renewals for Neymar, Suárez and potentially Messi in the upcoming weeks, but should Coutinho want to leave at the end of the season, the Reds might have to negotiate the fee.