Barcelona player Philippe Coutinho is now available for clubs looking to acquire him following the confirmation from Bayern Munich that the Brazilian will not be signed to a permanent deal. If the winger will not stay in Bundesliga and a return to Camp Nou is not an option, reports said Arsenal will want to bring him back to the Premier League.
Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed that his side is passing up on the option to buy Coutinho. The Bavarians were offered by Barca to buy the attacker for £105 million but the club seemed turned off by the hefty price tag.
According to The Sun, the option for Bayern to make Coutinho's deal permanent has expired and the team opted out of the arrangement.
"The option has expired and we have not exercised it. We will see if the player can still have a role to play with us or not," the German club executive was reported as saying.
Coutinho was sent by Barcelona to Bayern at the start of the season after failing to impress at Camp Nou. The former Liverpool star displayed flashes of brilliance while with the Bundesliga side but there were issues on consistency that prompted Bayern to make him available for other clubs to consider.
The Brazilian was tipped for a return to the Premier League but playing again for Jurgen Klopp's side seemed already ruled out. In any case, Coutinho is said to be in consideration by Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
It is the latter that is touted hell-bent to give Coutinho another shot at the Premier League. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has marked the midfielder as a dream signing in the summer and has reached out to the player's camp to start negotiating for a deal, Metro reported.
The plan by the Spanish boss is to make the 27-year-old a centerpiece of a new game plan for the Gunners, added the report.
It would seem that Arteta's hand will be forced to make key changes as the Arsenal roster is poised to undergo an overhaul with the imminent departure of talents like Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Alexandre Lacazette.
Arteta will be talking on a deal with Coutinho fully aware that he will need to dig deep into the pocket to secure the release of the Brazilian from Barcelona.
In a recent interview, Kia Joorabchian, Coutinho's agent, has indicated that the player is still free to discuss with interested parties on where he will be playing next. Except for his existing contract with Barcelona, Coutinho has yet to finalize an agreement with a new club.
