Barcelona are expected to make a second offer for Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho after seeing an initial €80m bid rejected, say reports.
Sky Sports reports the English club are expecting the Blaugrana to return with a second bid this week to follow on from reports in El Mundo Deportivo that the former Inter man is now Barca’s priority.
Barca reportedly envisage the 25-year-old, who is usually deployed in an attacking front-three in England, as Andres Iniesta’s heir in the midfield.
Coutinho signed a new deal at the Reds last season until 2022 and they are ‘fully confident’ he will not become distracted by such reports.
33-year-old Iniesta’s contract at the Camp Nou expires next season and even if he does put pen to paper on a new deal, it is likely he will feature less regularly in the first-team.
Reports from the Catalan press suggest Coutinho and international teammate Paulinho are Barca’s two prime transfer targets now in a bid to persuade Neymar to reject advances from Paris Saint-Germain.
