Coutinho move to Barcelona unlikely in January

Barcelona are unlikely to sign Philippe Coutinho in the January transfer window, despite claims by the Catalans' chief executive that a deal could be done, as per reports.

The Blaugrana bid for Coutinho three times last summer, but all three offers (the last of which was for around €130 million) were turned down by the Reds, with club owners Fenway Sports Group having insisted their player is not for sale.

Coutinho was keen on a move to Barca and was led to believe that is was a case of now or never as the Catalan club sought to replace Neymar with both he and Ousmane Dembele, who did arrive at Camp Nou from Borussia Dortmund for an initial €105m.

“We are ready to buy Coutinho in the winter market, or any player the technical staff request,” Barca chief executive Oscar Grau said last week.

Barca will look to offload Arda Turan and probably Paco Alcacer as well, although the Catalans are unlikely to receive big fees for either player.

Andre Gomes is also attracting interest, but he has had opportunities under coach Ernesto Valverde and may yet stay.

UCJ, UNILORIN.