Barcelona are not enjoying this summer transfer window it seems as they may well have to pull out of two reported pursuits this week.
The Catalan giants have of course already lost Neymar, and their attempts to replace him and bolster the squad elsewhere have failed for the most part.
A win over Real Betis in their La Liga opener was reason for cheer and they have signed Nelson Semedo and Paulinho to add extra quality to Ernesto Valverde’s side.
However, as reported by Sky Sports, it looks as though their pursuit of Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho has come to an end after a self-imposed deadline to reach an agreement with the Reds passed.
It’s claimed that after having a £113m bid rejected on Friday, Barcelona gave their rivals until 7pm on Sunday evening to accept their latest offer, but with no suggestion that an agreement has been reached, it would appear as though Coutinho is staying at Anfield for another season at least.
Having chased him for so long, this will be a huge setback for Barca, one that they’ll have to move on from quickly as they need to address their shortcomings with under two weeks to go until the end of the window.
It doesn’t get any better for them when it comes to Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri either, who had emerged as a top target last week.
As noted in the tweet below from Get French Football, as per L’Equipe, Seri’s €40m release clause expired on July 15. In turn, Barcelona will likely now have to pay significantly more, with Nice in their rights to demand a hefty figure.
Breaking | Jean-Michaël Seri's €40m release clause expired on the 15th July, Nice can now demand whatever they want from Barça say L'Équipe.
— Get French Football (@GFFN) August 20, 2017