Barcelona Transfer Rumors 2017: Barça to Lodge Another Bid for Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho
Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho has been linked with a move to Barcelona several times already in the past few years, but the Reds have always rejected their advances. Will it be any different this time around?
Goal has reported that Barcelona have lodged an initial bid of £72 million for Coutinho last week and it was rejected by Liverpool. Well, the Catalan giants aren't going to give up that easily.
According to the Mirror, Barça are preparing to make an improved bid of £80 million for the forward/attacking midfielder. However, ESPN FC has reported that the Reds have informed Barcelona that Coutinho will not be sold for any price.
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During a press conference last week, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp also reiterated that Coutinho is not for sale.
"The very important message is that we are not a selling club and that's how it is," Klopp said, according to ESPN FC.
At the press conference, Coutinho's teammate Adam Lallana also spoke about the Brazilian footballer's importance to the team.
"We're going to achieve big things here and I'm sure Phil is going to be part of that," Lallana said. "We're a massive club. If we're going to win competitions like the Champions League and Premier League then we need to keep our players like Philippe," he added.
Meanwhile, Spanish news outlet Don Balón is claiming that Liverpool have presented a counterproposal to Barcelona. Apparently, the Reds are willing to part ways with Coutinho if Barcelona offer them either Rafinha or Andre Gomes as part of a player-plus-cash deal.
Will the Reds really consider selling their best player for a fringe squad player?
Of course, it should be noted that Don Balón has a reputation for reporting inaccurate transfer rumors, so readers are advised to take this with a grain of salt. They get it right sometimes, but they often miss the mark completely.
