- Barcelona were heavily linked with Coutinho all summer
- Liverpool rejected their offers and kept the Brazilian international
- Barcelona now linked with moves for Fekir and Ozil instead
- READ MORE: Barcelona deal Arsenal major transfer blow, open talks for £60m target
Despite a summer-long transfer saga linking Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, the Catalan giants are rumoured to have shifted their focus elsewhere.
As reported by BBC Sport, Barca had three bids rejected by Liverpool over the summer, with the last coming in at around £114m.
The Reds were evidently not interested in parting company with their influential star, and so with no agreement in place over the summer, Barcelona’s next opportunity would come in January.
That seemed to be the case still earlier this week when Mundo Deportivo reported that Barcelona officials were planning to travel to England in November to push through a move for the Brazilian international.
However, it would appear as though something has changed in their approach as both Sport and Mundo Deportivo, as seen below, have led with separate transfer angles suggesting that the Catalan giants are looking at two other players as alternatives to the Liverpool ace.
Front Cover SPORT | “Contacts Fekir”
• The France international is alternative to Coutinho & Barça already made contacts with the player.
• The player has 11 Goals in 11 Games this season. #FCBlive pic.twitter.com/eiB5PDuZTN— Catalan Edition (@CatalanEdition) November 17, 2017
Front Cover MD | “Debate Özil”
• The German could also line-up for UCL who is an agenda for Coutinho alternative.
• The Player’s contract runs out on June 2018, The club thinks he will be for cheap then. #FCBlive pic.twitter.com/uaOsl569s6— Catalan Edition (@CatalanEdition) November 17, 2017
First up is Lyon star Nabil Fekir, who has captured plenty of attention with his form for the Ligue 1 outfit so far this season, scoring 12 goals and providing three assists in 15 appearances in all competitions.
It’s even suggested that talks have started between the two parties, but Mundo Deportivo believe that it’s Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil who could act as a contingency plan if Coutinho doesn’t arrive.
The German international will see his contract with the Gunners expire at the end of the season, and so a cut-price January deal has been touted as being a possibility for Barca.
Having chased Coutinho for so long, it would seem a little strange for Barcelona to now focus their attention elsewhere, but if true, it will be music to the ears of Liverpool fans.
The 25-year-old has scored four goals and provided three assists in nine outings for the Reds so far this season, and after recovering from injury over the international break, he’ll look to add to those tallies in the weeks ahead.
To his credit, despite all the potential disruption that talks over his future could have caused over the summer, Coutinho has reintegrated well at Liverpool and continues to be a crucial figure for Jurgen Klopp. With another transfer struggle ahead to wrestle him away from Anfield, perhaps Barca felt they had to look at other options instead.