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Philippe Coutinho’s agent has offered a fresh update on the Brazilian’s future amid speculation he will leave Barcelona in the summer.
Kia Joorabchian told Sean O’Brien at talkSPORT that the 28-year-old will make a final decision on where he’ll play next season after the 2019-20 Champions League is completed.
“He’s so focused on getting through the next stage. He’s looking forward to playing Barcelona and to winning the Champions League – [Bayern] have a side that has the potential to be [in the final].
“After the Champions League is finished and whatever happens then we’ll sit down. I haven’t even spoken to him about next year. It could be that Barcelona is the ultimate destination. He loves the Premier League, he wants to come to the Premier League, but finances and the situation of COVID will play a big part because he’s a big player with big numbers.”
Coutinho is currently part of the Bayern squad in Lisbon preparing for Friday’s quarter-final clash with parent club Barcelona.
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Coutinho to Arsenal?
This is not the first time that Joorabchian has spoken about Coutinho’s love for the Premier League. The playmaker enjoyed an impressive spell in England with Liverpool before joining Barcelona in January 2018.
A return to Anfield looks unlikely but Arsenal have been heavily linked with signing Coutinho on loan. Yet any move for the Brazilian may have to wait until Arsenal have completed the signing of Willian from Chelsea, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
Willian has already confirmed his departure from Stamford Bridge after seven years, and Joorabchian also had news on the 32-year-old.
“At the moment, just for now I can’t say where he’s going to go, for sure Arsenal are one of the contenders. But it wont be long before we announce it. We know where he’s going, so it wont be long.”
What is certain is that Coutinho will return from Bayern when the season is completed. The Bundesliga giants have not activated the purchase option in his contract and are unwilling to spend big to land the playmaker on a permanent basis.
Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Moritz Leihkamm at Bild: “Coutinho – as I said, the contract is running out and we cannot and will not make any further investments of this magnitude.”
Coutinho could even end up staying at Barcelona for next season, although the Catalan giants would prefer to sell the Brazilian to raise funds and to get his huge salary off the wage bill.
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