Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho

Chelsea seem to have moved one step closer to signing Philippe Coutinho from FC Barcelona during the summer, as per reports.

The player is currently out on loan at Bayern Munich but it’s pretty clear he will not be joining the Bavarian permanently due to his high transfer price and also his high wages.

German journalist Christian Falk, who’s the head of football at Sport Bild recently said in an interview: “No, Bayern won’t buy Coutinho.

“Anyone who wants to buy Coutinho won’t have to go to Bayern, but to Barcelona. After having struggled in both Germany and Spain, his value has decreased, so much so that the basis for negotiations should now be around €60 million.

The biggest problem, however, is that of his wages, which in Barcelona was worth €10 million a season. Not all clubs can afford such figures, especially with the crisis caused by the spread of the disease.”

And if this was not hinted enough, Barcelona manager Quique Setien himself indicated in an interview that Philippe Coutinho might be heading to a new club in the summer.

‘I think Coutinho is a great player, I really like him,’ the Barcelona manager said via Metro.

‘He is still a Barcelona player. You have to pay the clause or pay a sum to Barca. I think he can be here at the beginning of next season. I have to talk to him to ask him.’

This is a great boost for Chelsea who have now moved one step closer to signing the Brazilian international and Lampard’s pretty confident he can secure a deal soon enough.

Barcelona are reportedly holding out for a transfer price in the region of €90 million since they paid €140 odd million to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool. But right now the Blues are in no mood to offer such a massive amount for him.

Chelsea know very well about Coutinho’s desire to return back to the Premier League in the upcoming season which is why they want Barcelona to lower their demands further.

The Premier League club is sure they can get Philippe Coutinho for an even cheaper price especially since Barcelona are urgently trying to wrap up the deal for Lautaro Martinez.

Chelsea aren’t the only club interested in signing Philippe Coutinho with the likes of Arsenal also interested in him but as things stand, the playmaker looks all set to play for at Stamford Bridge next season.

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