Liverpool will give in to Philippe Coutinho’s demands and allow him to join Barcelona in January, according to reports in Spain.
The Brazilian playmaker submitted a transfer request in the summer after Barcelona made clear its intention to sign Coutinho, but Liverpool refused to sell—even rejecting a £135 million (about $178 million) bid.
Jurgen Klopp and the board at Anfild held firm, with Coutinho effectively reintroduced to the first-team midway through September and since then scoring four times this season.
But Liverpool is now prepared to sell the 25-year-old to the La Liga leader when the transfer window reopens at the beginning of the new year.
The Spanish newspaper also suggests that Klopp won’t admit a deal could be done, nor will he rule it out. “I have no idea,” Klopp reportedly said regarding a potential move. “We will see. We do not talk about things like this. Can you imagine what it would be like to say ‘Yes, we have an agreement’?
“Right now, the truth is that nobody thinks about this. We do not talk about that, why should we?"
He added: “In general, as a club, we have to create a situation in which players want to be part of everything they have. At this point, we have this. Nobody thinks about January, nobody thinks about June or July.”
But following the defensive debacle for Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on Sunday against Tottenham, a £135 million pot of cash to invest in January would seem a tempting prospect for Klopp.
The German watched his team implode, with center back Dejan Lovren one of the main culprits to allow Harry Kane to put Spurs 2-0 ahead within 12 minutes.
Related: Ronald Koeman Sacked after the club poor start to the season,Sean Dyche emerged as potential target to replace him.
Klopp had wanted to strengthen his defense in the summer, making Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk his first choice. But the board at St. Mary’s refused to allow the Dutchman to leave, and Klopp had no backup option.
Barcelona’s technical director Robert Fernandez was at Wembley to watch Coutinho, Mundo Deportivo says, but he was also keen on seeing a group of Tottenham players.
Harry Kane and Dele Alli were both on Fernandez’s radar, the report says, as were Christian Eriksen and Davinson Sanchez.
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