Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is eager to get his hands on Barcelona flop Philippe Coutinho but it seems like the Premier League club might miss out on him.
The Gunners received a major boost a few weeks ago when Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had revealed that the Bavarians have not triggered the playmaker’s buy-out clause meaning he will be heading back to the La Liga this summer.
“The option expired and we haven’t activated it,” Rummenigge told Der Spiegel magazine on Friday, as reported by Football London.
“Now we’re going to draw up squad planning internally (for next season) and we’ll see if he still has a role to play with us or not.”
This news gave Arsenal a great chance of signing Philippe Coutinho during the summer and Arteta was planning to make a move for him pretty soon.
But now as per Sport, Barcelona are itching to offload him which is why they have offered the services of the Brazilian to Chelsea and Spurs plus are also willing to lower their demands.
The report claims: “Barça are trying to accelerate Coutinho’s departure in order to score his sale at the end of the current year. The task is not easy because the player’s appraisal is high and his astronomical record stops the interest of many teams.
“The efforts are already fully focused on the Premier League, with Chelsea and Tottenham as possible destinations.
“The footballer was offered to Inter Milan and Juventus, but the two Italian teams backed down due to the impossibility of paying the tab for the Brazilian footballer. From there, their agents are trying to convince Chelsea or Tottenham, the most interested clubs in the market, to approach a purchase transaction.
“In the sports area of the Blaugrana club they are already clear that no club will put 90 million euros on the table, so they would accept to include a footballer in exchange. The idea would be to receive 50-60 million euros in cash and a footballer valued at around 30 million euros. Barça are studying defensive players – left-backs or central defender – to try to square this exit.”
Will Arsenal miss out on Philippe Coutinho?
This is serious news for Mikel Arteta since, at 50-60 million euros, Philippe Coutinho would have been a perfect signing. But if either Chelsea or Spurs are keen to land him, there’s very little Arsenal can do about it now.
Having said this, some experts feel Arsenal still have a great chance of signing the former Liverpool star as they can not only arrange the required amount but can also spare defenders for the swap deal.
Arsenal have a series of unwanted defenders who can be part of this deal but what remains to be seen is if Philippe Coutinho is willing to agree to a move to the Emirates or not.
At this point, Chelsea and Tottenham are clearly the frontrunners in signing the 27-year-old and Arsenal will only get a chance if the two London clubs drop their interest.
