Philippe Coutinho and Barcelona – LATEST

Guillem Balague says he doesn’t think Barcelona will make a move for Liverpool ace Philippe Coutinho in the summer.

The Spanish football pundit isn’t convinced that the Catalan giants will break the bank this time around for the 24-year-old Brazilian despite their ongoing interest.

Balague said: “I don’t think so. There has been no real interest from Barcelona for the Liverpool forward.

“I know Rivaldo has spoken about it but it doesn’t make sense because they see him as a forward and the front three will be the front three next season.”

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Rivaldo had recently commented: “In my opinion, he’s a great player and a player who knows Neymar well. I think they are both friends – players who stand out.

“I think that this transfer might happen because Barcelona is always going to attract the best, isn’t it?

“He is one of the players who stands out and I believe that this transfer – if he goes to Barcelona – would be a good thing for Barcelona for sure.

“He is a player who would definitely help Barcelona. Of course, Barcelona is a big club, but with a player like him, it would definitely be a big help.”

The Spanish media continue to report that Barcelona want the fans’ favourite but in November they reported that Real Madrid had reignited their interest and were also now showing firm interest in him. It was claimed that boss Zinedine Zidane had told club president Florentino Perez that Coutinho was the top of his wish-list.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see Coutinho (and possibly Firmino) leave Anfield at some point unless there is a significant increase in the caliber of players in the squad. With Liverpool having done nothing during the January transfer window, supporters will be desperate to see some quality additions in the summer, as too will the players.

For the time being though, Coutinho remains a Liverpool player and one who isn’t for sale. While clubs are obviously interested in him, there are no credible suggestions, at the time of publication, that he’s being sounded out about a summer move. There is also no chatter coming out of the club from the players and their associates that he’s unsettled and looking for a move despite it being widely known that he would like to link up with close friend Neymar at the Nou Camp one day.

However, to completely dismiss the suggestion that Coutinho’s Anfield future is secure would be naive. We’d certainly feel a lot happier if the club can get him tied down to a new contract which was mooted towards the end of 2016 following an enquiry from PSG. Things have gone a little quiet on that front and with owners FSG having announced the return of Steven Gerrard during the current transfer window, the likelihood of some more ‘good news’ being dropped before the window closes seems unlikely.

One thing is for sure, Liverpool have the right man in Jürgen Klopp overseeing things. We think that in itself is a huge plus towards retaining the Brazilian but we cannot stress the importance of the boss securing his primary targets in the summer.

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“I also call that around March, if not sooner, that you will see speculation relating to Coutinho attracting firm interest (again),” – KopTalk editor @DuncanOldham via Twitter, earlier this month.