Barcelona have decided winger Philippe Coutinho will remain at the club for the upcoming season, now that Premier League sides are unable to sign him this summer. Soon, the La Liga starts and football betting la liga goes with it.
The Brazilian had been linked to the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham, but a move to either side failed to materialise before the English transfer window slammed shut on Thursday.
Now, according to Marca, Barcelona have concluded that Coutinho will not be sold, despite their best efforts to part ways with the high-earning Brazilian during the summer. They wanted to sell him to finance a move for Neymar, but that now appears unlikely.
It is said the only way Coutinho could leave Barcelona this summer would be in a swap deal for Neymar – something which the Blaugrana are said to be pushing for this summer – but they know Paris Saint-Germain will do everything they can to avoid selling the winger back to the La Liga champions.
Recently, Real Madrid appear to have stolen a march in the race for Neymar’s signature and PSG would certainly prefer to do business with Los Blancos, with Real believed to be prepared to lodge a huge player-plus-cash bid which could see Luka Modric head to Paris.
Given a move for Neymar now looks incredibly unlikely, it is thought Barcelona’s transfer business is done for the upcoming season. However, things could change very quickly if a number of first-team players look to leave.
The likes of Ivan Rakitic, Rafinha, Arturo Vidal and young Riqui Puig are all believed to be seeking assurances over their futures at Camp Nou, and losing any number of them would likely force Barcelona to look for alternatives in the transfer market.
With funds proving hard to come by following the expensive arrivals of Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann, Barcelona would likely demand sizeable fees for any departing player, so as to give them a chance to find an acceptable replacement.