Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Barcelona for the signing of former Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian, who joined the Blaugrana club from Liverpool for a record €160 million in January 2018, is currently on a two-year loan at Bayern Munich, which ends this summer. Bayern also has the option of triggering their buyout clause from the loan agreement, which allows them to sign the 27-year-old for €110 million. But the Bundesliga champions have refused to activate that clause and will instead see out the remainder of the loan agreement. Chelsea, are in dire need of a proven playmaker to assist their young breed of attackers. English Football League Offers USD 57 Million Short-Term Relief Package to Clubs.

According to a report from Spanish newspaper Sports ES, Chelsea have already opened talks with the club for a possible transfer of Coutinho. But are reluctant to pay anything close to what Barcelona value the Brazilian at. Like Bayern, Frank Lampard’s side are also ready to take the Brazilian attacker on loan for a season. Paul Pogba, Victor Lindelof Support Coronavirus Affected National Teammates Blaise Matuidi and Albin Ekdal by Training in Juventus & Sampdoria Shirts (Watch Video).

The report further states that the Premier League club will be given similar agreement to what Geerman outfit Bayern signed with Barcelona when they loaned out Countho to Germany in 2019. The agreement allows Barcelona to command £15m from the Blues as a transfer fee while also will also have to cover the player’s wages.

Coutinho struggled to get going at Camp Nou Having made the switch from Anfield and could complete just one of the six-year contract he signed with the Catalan club before being loaned out. He started well scoring his maiden goal against Valencia and was a hit at Camp Nou in his first season, which saw him lift the La Liga and Copa del Rey. He finished the first half-season at Barcelona (from January to May) with 13 goals in 52 appearances. But struggled next season after being moved to the right-wing by then Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde. On October 2019, Coutinho was loaned out to Bayern for a two-year period.

He has since performed well in patches for the Bavarians but has failed to break into the first team and mostly plays from the bench. Tottenham Hotspur were interested in signing the 27-year-old – once described as the magician during his time at Anfield – but failed to land an agreement with Barcelona mainly due to the high fee.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 19, 2020 05:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).