Barcelona Offer $179M Midfielder To Arsenal, Newcastle To Fund Lautaro Martinez's Transfer: Report

FC Barcelona reportedly have offered Philippe Coutinho to Premier League side Arsenal and Newcastle ahead of the summer transfer window.

Barcelona want to get rid of the Brazilian to make space in the squad and fund the transfer of one of their top targets, Lautaro Martinez, who has been labeled at $80 million by Inter Milan.

It has been clear that Coutinho does not feature in Barcelona’s future plans. He was loaned away to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2019 after he arrived at Nou Camp during the 2018 January transfer window.

In fact, Bayern were given an option to sign Coutinho on a permanent basis but the German champions did not want to meet Barcelona’s asking price for the midfielder. Barcelona want to sell Coutinho at any cost despite knowing they will lose out on money in his transfer, whom they had signed from Liverpool for a hefty price of $179 million.

Taking into account Coutinho’s transfer fee and wages, Barcelona are certain they will not get buyers this summer after the clubs have been financially hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

A report in Goal has revealed that Barcelona have offered Coutinho to Arsenal and Newcastle on loan but they are yet to hear back from both the Premier League sides. It is understood that the two clubs are continuing to ponder over the terms of a deal, which they would ideally want to finalize depending upon their standings for next season. Newcastle are believed to be on pole position to sign Coutinho on loan, provided their takeover by the Saudi Arabia-based firm happens.

It has also been reported that Barcelona have convinced their defender Junior Firpo to move to Inter Milan as a part of the swap deal that would see Martinez join the Nou Camp side this summer. According to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, Barcelona and Inter Milan have agreed over Firpo’s transfer fee of $46 million. However, Inter Milan have demanded $80 million apart from Firpo in Martinez’s transfer. To fulfill Inter Milan’s demands, Barcelona will have to sell a few players, and Coutinho is understood to be on the top of their list for the same.