Will Philippe Coutinho be announced as a Barcelona player anytime later next week or will we have to wait until the transfer deadline day to see the switch from Liverpool happening? Several interesting developments have taken place on Friday August 11.
As per reports, the Brazilian star has handed a transfer request to Liverpool, possibly after getting increasingly frustrated with the transfer saga. He has been asking for an amicable transfer from Merseyside to Catalonia, but nothing like that seems to be happening.
As a matter of fact, the Premier League side came out with a strong statement of their own earlier in the day stating Coutinho was absolutely not for sale and no bid whatsoever would be accepted. The message was from Liverpool FC owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG).
We wish to offer clarity as regards our position on a possible transfer of Philippe Coutinho.
The club's definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes.
- FSG statement on Coutinho.
Meanwhile, there are other reports circling as well that the Reds are covering up the fact that Coutinho has handed a transfer request.
Barcelona turning eyes elsewhere
While we do understand that Coutinho is a major transfer target for Barcelona, the recent developments clearly make it difficult to suggest if the the Brazilian is indeed replacing Neymar at Barca.
While Ousmane Dembele also continues to be a major transfer target, it has been learnt that the La Liga giants are now eyeing Tottenham Hotspur star Christian Eriksen, the reports came out of nowhere on Friday!
According to Independent, Barca are actually looking at Eriksen as a long-term successor of Andres Iniesta. The Catalan giants are claimed to be a fan of Eriksen's link-up play and his passing qualities.
Not only that, reports from Spain have emerged that Barcelona are also looking for a sensational swoop of Real Madrid midfielder Marco Asensio. It is being claimed that Barca are willing to trigger the £72m release clause of the player.
