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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Tottenham Hotspur have tabled a loan bid for Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho, per The Times.
What’s the word?
The report states that Spurs are trying to sign the Brazil international prior to Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Indeed, Mauricio Pochettino worked with the former Liverpool star at Espanyol.
Barca are keen to receive a £21m loan fee for the player, per the report, while he also earns over £200,000-per-week; if he were to move to the club The Times states that he would become their highest earner.
A surprise alternative
This is a surprise.
It is a link that has largely come out of the blue; sources have confirmed that the club remain in talks with Sporting Lisbon over Bruno Fernandes and have also authenticated their interest in Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso.
To change tack and suddenly do a deal for Coutinho this late in the window would be a shock, not least because of his profile and Premier League experience.
He cost Barca over £140m when he joined them from Liverpool, having emerged as a star at Anfield.
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Coutinho scored 54 goals and registered 45 assists for the Reds in 201 games and he has also netted 21 times and provided 11 assists during his time at Camp Nou.
This may well end up being a deal that is done without Fernandes and Lo Celso arriving; perhaps this is actually a fall-back option that could be exercised at the eleventh hour.
It would be good planning ahead of what looks to be a remarkably frantic deadline day in north London.
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