The Citizen (Gauteng)

Coutinho: Barca have not given up hope

-

– Barcelona are planning a fresh assault on Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho (right) in the January transfer window, the Catalan club’s CEO Oscar Grau promised this week.

Barca were thwarted in their attempt to prise Coutinho away from Anfield during the summer with Liverpool placing a reported €200 million asking price on the midfielder.

Despite the player trying to engineer a move, Liverpool turned down his late transfer request during the close season window.

But Grau made clear the Spanish giants had not given up the chase.

“We are ready to sign Coutin-

Barcelona

ho, or any other player (during the winter transfer window),” he told a press conference.

“We have the money,” Grau said, confirming the club’s announceme­nt in July of record income of €708m for 2016/2017 with an after-tax profit of €18m.

Barca experience­d a tumultuous time during the summer transfer market, losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for a world record €222m, and bringing in Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for €105m.

But Dembele has endured a nightmare start. The Frenchman suffered a hamstring injury on his full La Liga debut, ruling him out until January at the earliest. –

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa