Barcelona ‘are ready to take a £65million hit on Philippe Coutinho’ with Chelsea reportedly favourites to take the Brazilian initially on loan.
However, The former Liverpool midfielder has failed to make much of an impact at the Nou Camp since his £145m transfer from Liverpool back in 2018. The 27-year-old is spending this season on loan at Bayern Munich but the German club aren’t interested in making the deal permanent.
Now, according to Spanish newspaper Sport, Chelsea are front-runners to sign Coutinho once the transfer window opens following the coronavirus shutdown.
They report that Chelsea want to take Coutinho on loan for next season for a fee of £13m as well as paying his wages in full. The Blues would then try and turn the deal into a permanent one next year.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard sees Coutinho as a replacement for his Brazilian compatriot Willian, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires this summer.