Barcelona officials land in Liverpool to 'finalise' Philippe Coutinho transfer: Report

Courtesy: Reuters

New Delhi: Following the departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona have been aggressively pursuing Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho.

According to reports in Mundo Deportivo and the Daily Mail, Barca directors Oscar Grau, Raul Sanllehi and Javier Bordas have arrived in England to conduct what are said to be 'final negotiations' over a move for Coutinho.

A Liverpool source also told ESPN FC that Coutinho has told Jurgen Klopp that he wants to leave the Merseyside club and join Barcelona.

Having rejected a GBP 72 million offer last month, Liverpool informed Barca the 25-year-old will not be sold for any price, while manager Klopp said last week that the Catalan side can "save their energy" in their pursuit of Coutinho.

The move is being led by Coutinho's agents Kia Joorabchian and Sam Kohansal, who also hope to negotiate a move for Paulinho to join Barca from Guangzhou Evergrande in the coming days.

Despite Neymar's Euro 222m sale to Paris Saint-Germain, the sources said Barcelona do not plan to overspend on Coutinho.

Barcelona will host Real Betis in their first game of the 2017-18 La Liga season, while Liverpool will take on Wartford to begin their Premier League 2017-18 campaign on August 12.