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Barcelona "won't get Coutinho"
Barcelona will not be able to prise Philippe Coutinho away from Liverpool this summer, according to Guillem Balague's analysis of the situation.
The Spanish club are believed to have had three bids for the playmaker rejected by the Merseysiders with the Premier League club adamant that Coutinho is not for sale.
The Brazilian handed in a transfer request in an effort to make the move happen but even though Barca's latest offer of £118m would have made Coutinho the second most expensive player in history, Liverpool insist they will not budge in their stance.
"Barcelona were not prepared for losing Neymar," Balague told Sky Sports News. "Coutinho only became a target when Neymar left.
"Barca didn't work on deals for [Nice's] Jean Michael Seri in the eventuality a move for Coutinho failed, and they thought they had got [PSG's} Marco Verratti when they hadn't.
"Now Barcelona find themselves needing urgent solutions, but they won't get all the players they want.
"If Liverpool are to be believed, they won't get Coutinho, for instance, and they will have to go for other targets.
"Barcelona set a deadline of 7pm on Sunday for Liverpool to accept their third for Coutinho. And that they would retract the offer if it was not accepted.
"Liverpool have not even answered, so that should mean that's the end of that.
"Lodging a sizeable third bid for Coutinho could help Barca negotiate better deals for other targets, though.
"They may be able offer a little less for their targets now - [Borussia Dortmund's] Ousmane Dembele, Jean Michael Seri and their third target, Angel Di Maria from Paris St-Germain."
Liverpool's Champions League play-off second leg against Hoffenheim at Anfield is live on BT Sport 2 on Wednesday, 23 August [kick-off 7.45pm]
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