It’s a nervy time to be a Liverpool fan.
The Reds’ transfer approach this summer can only be described as ‘all their eggs in one basket’ with their pursuits of Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita both now enduring sagas.
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But they’re now very much at risk of losing their talisman too.
That’s because Barcelona have ramped up their efforts to sign Philippe Coutinho this summer, with Spanish news outlet Sport claiming they’re preparing an €100m bid.
According to reports, the Catalans want to bring Coutinho and Brazilian team-mate Paulinho to the Nou Camp in a bid to appease Neymar and convince him to stay.
Neymar’s future has been shrouded in doubt in the last week, with reports intensifying of a move to PSG amidst a world-record offer from the French side.
But Barcelona feel if they can lure the Brazil star’s two Samba sidekicks to Spain he’ll decide to shun a move to Ligue 1.
Mundo Deportivo, a Barcelona-based newspaper, believes Coutinho and Paulinho – who plays in China for Guangzhou Evergrande – have been made their number one priorities this summer.
Neymar’s father is at the centre of the negotiations trying to bring his son to France whilst Barcelona team-mates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique have all pleaded with the 25-year-old to stay.
Can Liverpool resist such a sizeable offer?
How did Coutinho perform in fantasy football last season?
Coutinho was Liverpool’s top performing player on Dream Team last season with 201 points – and it would have been a lot higher had he not suffered ankle ligament damage in November.
That derailed his season for six weeks when beforehand he and Liverpool were both flying at the top of the Premier League.
Coutinho amassed 14 goals and seven assists in all competitions, with three of those strikes coming in the last two games of the season to help the Reds clinch a top-four spot.
He also scored a rating of 7.56 with WhoScored in the Premier League – a number bettered by only four players last season.