Barcelona Transfer Rumors 2017: Barça Eyeing Philippe Coutinho, Eden Hazard, Ousmane Dembélé and Paulo Dybala to Replace Neymar
Barcelona will have a lot of money in the coffers once Neymar completes his €222 million (around £199 million) transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, so who should they target?
Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho is probably the most popular name in the rumor mill right now as far as Neymar's replacement is concerned, and according to the Daily Mail's James Dutton, Barcelona are planning to lodge a new bid worth €120 million (around £107 million) for the Brazilian footballer.
While Coutinho played in central midfield during his first couple of years with the club, Jürgen Klopp has been playing him in an advanced role on the left flank lately. Coutinho can easily fill the huge hole that Neymar is leaving behind on the left wing.
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However, Barcelona may be wasting their time chasing Coutinho because the Reds are just not interested in parting ways with their best player.
"I can understand that Coutinho is so highly rated, but they can save their energy," Klopp replied when the media asked him about Barcelona's interest in the midfielder during a recent press conference, via ESPN FC.
Meanwhile, The Sun has claimed that Barcelona are targeting Chelsea's Eden Hazard as Neymar's successor and they want Coutinho to be Andrés Iniesta's long-term successor in midfield.
"The attraction of Hazard is two fold — he is one of the only players who can play in Neymar's position as well as being a long term target for their bitter rivals Real," Martin Lipton said in his report for The Sun.
Aside from Coutinho and Hazard, Barcelona are also eyeing Ousmane Dembélé and Paulo Dybala as potential replacements for Neymar, per the Independent.
Dybala is an interesting target because of his close relationship with his fellow Argentinian Lionel Messi, but the report says that Dembélé may be easier to sign because he's cheaper at around £70 million.
