Man Utd and Chelsea told they can buy Barcelona flop Philippe Coutinho for a cut-price £77m
PHILIPPE COUTINHO will reportedly be allowed to leave Barcelona for a cut-price fee of £77million in the summer as they look to get the Brazilian off their books.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and former club Liverpool have all been linked with a move for the 27-year-old who is currently on loan at Bayern Munich.
But it is understood that Bayern – who have an option to turn his loan spell into a permanent stay for £102m – are unwilling to take up their offer.
It is believed that the Bavarian outfit are keen to snap up Bayer Leverkusen starlet Kai Havertz instead.
According to the Daily Express, Barca are planning to offload a number of players – including Coutinho – as they prepare to provide boss Quique Setien with sufficient funds to spend in the summer.
They claim they are ready to make a huge loss on the ex-Inter Milan playmaker who they signed for £145m from Jurgen Klopp’s side in January 2018, and will accept offers of around £77m.
SunSport reported last month how the Blaugrana are desperate to offload the Copa America winner to raise money in order to replace ageing striker Luis Suarez.
Despite chipping in with seven goals and eights assists in 26 games in all competitions this season, Coutinho has been plagued by inconsistent performances.
He hasn’t found the back of the net since his hat-trick against Hertha Berlin on December 14, with Bayern boss Hansi Flick recently commenting on his struggles.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash against RB Leipzig, he said: “It’s not easy – the training sessions of Philippe have been very good lately.
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“Of course, not everything was great against Hoffenheim [on Wednesday], but it wasn’t all bad either.
“I don’t think he is 100 per cent satisfied with the performance he is currently showing, but he’s a player of ours and we have to help him, whatever we do.
“I’m sure he’ll help us a lot, so we have to wait and see. In every career there are low points and it is not so easy to fit into such a homogeneous team. He is fit and I am in a positive mood.”