Bent to offload Philippe Coutinho the soonest, Barcelona will reportedly lower the demands for interested clubs to sign up the attacking midfielder. The Brazilian star is set to complete his loan deal with Bayern Munich and the new deal offering could make him attractive to several Premier League teams, Arsenal including.
The former Liverpool man has been struggling to earn a spot at Camp Nou since transferring in 2018 and while he did better with the Bavarians this season, the likelihood of Coutinho signing up with the Germans permanently is next to zero. Partly to blame is his reported transfer fee of £105 million plus a weekly wage of £200,000.
Coutinho, however, can be signed to a loan deal and the fee demanded by Barcelona is set at £10 million. For teams checking out the Brazil international, the Catalans are offering to sweeten the deal, according to The Telegraph.
Barca will pay a portion of the salary that the winger is entitled to every week as the report indicated that the Spanish giants are looking to finalize a deal the soonest. It was not mentioned though if the planned discount will include reducing the loan fee attached to Coutinho.
In any case, the revised offer from the Catalans should prod clubs to take a second look and supposedly at the forefront of the lot are Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, and Arsenal. It is the latter that likely will emerge as the most interested because Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has recently made clear that beefing up the roster is a top priority in the next transfer window.
The Spanish, however, will have to make to do with limited funds as Arsenal like all football clubs will be forced to operate on a budget due to the financial constraints caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The last check showed that Arteta has turned down the original terms sent by Barcelona on Coutinho but he could change his mind given the flexibility coming from the Spanish side. The Brazilian star while struggling to find the old form that saw him shone with Liverpool is seen as a perfect fit for Arsenal's needs.
Metro said Arteta faces the prospect of seeing some top Arsenal players heading to the exit door in the coming months such as Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette, and marksman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The latter, for instance, has been stalling in signing an extension at the Emirates.
While Coutinho is not exactly a replacement if and when the Gabon international decides to leave, the Brazilian playmaker will at least fill a spot on the vacancies to occur soon in the Arsenal locker room.
Arteta is said to be searching for two defenders, a midfielder, and a striker to take over from Aubameyang.
