Transfer news as it happened: Liverpool told Lemar price and chase second Coutinho replacement, Sanchez to City

Good morning and welcome to today's Independent transfer live blog.

Philippe Coutinho is now the world's third-most expensive player after completing his £142m move to Barcelona but the January transfer window is only just getting started with clubs set to spend, spend, spend this month.

We'll bring you all the latest news, done deals and breaking rumours throughout the day right here so don't touch that dial.

Without further ado, off we go.

Alexis Sanchez could be a Manchester City player within a week, according to figures close to the Arsenal striker, as the Premier League leaders prepare another move for the Chilean.

City had been weighing up whether to move for Sanchez now or wait to get him on a free at the end of the season, having already been denied last summer, but the injury to Gabriel Jesus has persuaded them to act, with dialogue over a potential deal having been re-opened over the weekend.

On the other side, it is understood that Arsene Wenger is now willing to sanction a sale, having previously been absolutely determined to keep Sanchez.

More here:

Philippe Coutinho’s Barcelona shirt number has been revealed – and it’s one that carries a lot of significance at the Nou Camp.

The Brazilian has been handed the No 14 shirt following the confirmation of his move from Liverpool for £142m, which has been vacated by another former Red, Javier Mascherano, who will complete a move to China imminently.

But it is not Mascherano who has made that shirt famous, it is the late Johan Cruyff, who made it his trademark throughout his career and played for Barcelona between 1973 and 1978, switching between No 14 and No 9, scoring 48 goals in 143 games and winning both La Liga and the Copa del Rey in the process.

Liverpool youngster Cameron Brannagan is close to leaving his boyhood club and joining Oxford United on a permanent basis.

The highly-rated 21-year-old made eight appearances under Jürgen Klopp during the 2015-16 season but has since found his opportunities limited and is now desperate to play first-team football.

Brannagan, who once attracted interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona, will see his current contract at Anfield expire this summer and Oxford are ready to offer a two-and-a-half year deal to the midfielder.

More from Mark Critchley here:

Tuesday's gossip round-up

Let's take a look around Tuesday's back pages, shall we?

Chelsea's attempts to sign Juventus left-back Alex Sandro have stalled due to the Italian club's asking price, the Telegraph reports. The paper says Juventus are demanding about £60million for the 26-year-old, which is more than Chelsea are prepared to spend - a similar scenario to last summer when the Italian club wanted almost £80million.

Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin is said to be in talks over a move to Valencia after finding himself out of favour at the Emirates. The Daily Mail says West Ham are also interested in the 26-year-old, but that Hammers manager David Moyes fears Coquelin would prefer a move to the Spanish LaLiga side.

West Ham are reportedly moving closer to securing a £12million deal for Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey. The Daily Express says talks between the two clubs have progressed, but that the Magpies are keen to line up a replacement before the deal is finalised.

There's no disguising what the biggest story of the window has been so far.

Philippe Coutinho's £142m move to Barcelona is the talk of football.

Here's Simon Hughes with the inside story of how it happened, what role Jurgen Klopp played and where Liverpool go from here:

Arsene Wenger has revealed Konstantinos Mavropanos was the first Arsenal signing done on the basis of new head of recruitment Sven Mislintat’s advice, as the manager spoke of how the club are currently adapting to a new structure and the need to find a “new balance”.

There have been 10 backroom appointments at the club since June, with Mislintat the most high profile, and former Barcelona official Raul Sanllehi set to start as director of football on 1 February.

Asked whether Mislintat had identified Mavropanos, Wenger said: “yes”.

Under-pressure Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino wants to spend on a striker this month as he desperately looks to add goals to his team. 

Saints will see their coffers boosted by the sale of Virgil van Dijk, although they have had to pay out a large chunk of the initial fee from Liverpool to the Dutchman’s former clubs Celtic, who had a sell-on clause.

And while the Argentinean will look to strengthen his defence as well, the priority is on attacking players and a Saints return for Theo Walcott is something that the club will look at if the price is right. 

More details here:

Harry Kane believes that Philippe Coutinho has been “very professional” in eventually getting his long-desired move from Liverpool to Barcelona, as he said clubs should generally let players who want to go because they may not “put their heart on the line”.

The comments mean all the more from Kane given that he is someone who has declared his ambition to stay at Tottenham Hotspur in the long term, even though they are often in a similar situation to Liverpool with wealthier clubs looking for their players, and some of his teammates might well have that soon.

It is expected that Spurs will eventually stretch their wage structure to offer the striker a new contract - and probably more than double his wages - but Kane denied any knowledge of a deal.

Ross Barkley's move to Chelsea has gone somewhat under the radar.

Everton’s former technical coordinator Tosh Farrell worked with the likes of Barkley, Wayne Rooney and Jack Rodwell during their formative years.

Here's why he thinks Barkley's move to the Blues could be the making of him.