Chelsea in ‘talks’ over Coutinho loan | OneFootball

Chelsea have reportedly opened talks with Barcelona over the possibility of signing Philippe Coutinho on loan ahead of next season with the player keen on a return to the Premier League.

The Brazilian international has seen his career stall since leaving Liverpool in a big-money move two years ago, failing to make an impression at Barcelona before being deemed surplus to requirements by the Spanish giants.

Coutinho joined Bayern Munich on a season-long loan deal last summer but has again struggled during his time in the Bundesliga, with the German giants currently uninterested in taking up their option to sign the 27-year-old on a permanent basis.

According to Sport, Barcelona are keen to offload the player this summer as they bid to raise significant funds to manoeuvre in the transfer market, though the Catalan side are likely to take a huge hit on the playmaker who cost the club an initial £105m.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is likely to hugely impact the transfer market and another loan deal may be the most likely scenario once again, with Chelsea having opened talks over a potential deal to bring Coutinho back to English football.

Barcelona, however, are keen to include an obligatory fee of €65 million to buy into any loan deal – a deal the west London side are unwilling to strike at present. Frank Lampard is desperate to add additional creativity to his side this summer having already secured the services of Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech, and the Chelsea boss is confident of helping Coutinho rediscover his best form at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are willing to take on the player’s salary with an option to buy the player should he prove successful, though the club could face competition from several Premier League rivals with the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United also reportedly monitoring the player’s situation.

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