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Chelsea have been linked with a move for Phillippe Coutinho, although whether it will be a loan or a permanent deal remains to be seen.
The former Liverpool player signed for Barcelona in a £142 million move in January 2018, but has struggled to make an impression in Catalonia, and was sent to Bayern Munich on a season long loan in August. However, he has failed to convince the German champions that he is worth exercising their option to buy at the end of the season, and he is set to return to Spain.
Barcelona are desperate to get him off their books and are willing to sell him for £70 million, less than half of that they paid for him. However, because of his high salary, they are likely to find few takers.
Instead Chelsea may offer an alternative solution to their problem by taking him on a season long loan, with an option to buy next summer. The Catalans would prefer a permanent deal, so negotiations are continuing about a player the West London side wanted to sign last summer, but were prevented from doing so because of their transfer ban.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.