Barcelona set sights on Tottenham's Christian Eriksen as Liverpool refuse to sell Philippe Coutinho
Liverpool's resoluteness over Coutinho has led to yet another transfer headache for Tottenham Hotspur, as Barcelona launch a campaign to sign Eriksen
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool's resolve to keep hold of Philippe Coutinho now looks set to lead to another transfer issue for Tottenham Hotspur, as Barcelona have already made initial moves through intermediaries to try and sign Christian Eriksen.
The Catalan club want to this summer buy an attacking midfielder - and eventual successor to Andres Iniesta - as well as a replacement for Neymar, and Coutinho had been a target for the former, only for Liverpool to release a statement on Friday morning that he would not be sold.
The Independent understands that Barcelona had already been preparing for that, and had started the process of trying to prise Eriksen from Spurs.
The feeling among the Camp Nou coaching staff is that the Danish international's link-up play is very suited to Barcelona.
The irony is that Spurs are likely to be even more difficult to deal with than Liverpool, especially since Eriksen signed a four-year contract extension in September 2016.
While there is a belief that Daniel Levy has a selling price for every player, Barca may have to go beyond £100m, given that Spurs sold Kyle Walker for over £50m.
Earlier on Friday, Liverpool's owners released a statement insisting that Coutinho will not be sold this summer.
“We wish to offer clarity as regards our position on a possible transfer of Philippe Coutinho,” said a statement from owners Fenway Sports Group on the Merseyside club's official website
“The club's definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments