Barcelona are reportedly open to accepting an offer of just £21million for Philippe Coutinho, three-and-a-half years after paying £143m for him.
The Spanish giants paid top dollar to buy the Brazilian attacking midfielder from Liverpool back in January 2018, but the 29-year-old has failed to consistently impress at the Nou Camp and was sent out on loan to Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 season.
And according to Mundo Deportivo, as reported by Football Espana, the club – which is struggling severely due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and a gargantuan wage bill – could accept a £124m loss on the 63-cap international.
Coutinho has struggled with indifferent form and a worrying injury history during his spell at the club, only making 14 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals during the entirety of last season due to a serious knee injury in December.
However despite manager Ronald Koeman reportedly being convinced of his return to full fitness ahead of the new campaign, he is still said to be willing to let him leave the club to reduce the astronomically large wage list.
According to Daily Mail, Coutinho had been offered to Italian side AC Milan, with the club aware he may only be able to leave on loan rather than permanently due to his injury record.
The Rossoneri could be looking for a replacement for attacking midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu after the Turk moved to bitter rivals Inter Milan on a free transfer.
And Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian has reportedly been told to find him a new club in an attempt to grease the wheels of a potential move away.
Due to their financial woes, Barcelona are focusing on signing players on free transfers and selling numerous members of their squad, with Junior Firpo close to a Leeds move and Samuel Umtiti and Miralem Pjanic also linked with transfers away.
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