Philippe Coutinho set to join FC Barcelona?

Courtesy: Twitter (@LFC)

Barcelona and Liverpool have agreed on a deal in principle to allow Philippe Coutinho to move to the Spanish giants for 120 million euros ($144 million), a report said Saturday.

Barcelona-based Sport newspaper said Coutinho would join Barca this month on a deal for five seasons, although it said the details of the deal were still to be finalised.

Coutinho`s departure would be a blow to Liverpool, but it would allow Barcelona to move on from the bitter experience of losing his Brazil teammate Neymar last summer to Qatar-backed Paris Saint-Germain for a world record 222 million euros.

Coutinho`s age – he is 25 – is also attractive to Barca, whose three main stars, Lionel, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta are all in their thirties.

French sport daily L`Equipe reported on Saturday that Liverpool were lining up Leicester`s Riyad Mahrez to replace Coutinho, although other reports have indicated that the Merseyside club would prefer to acquire Thomas Lemar from Monaco.