Once the 2019/20 Premier League season returns, attention will soon turn to summer transfers, and one €90m Chelsea target could well end up plying his trade somewhere other than Stamford Bridge.
According to Sport and cited by the Daily Express, once Newcastle United’s takeover has been finalised, they want to make Barcelona star, Philippe Coutinho, their first marquee signing.
The Magpies will face stiff competition themselves, however, with a separate report in Sport noting that Everton will meet one of Barca’s conditions, if the Catalans are unable to secure a straight sale. That is a loan deal with a mandatory purchase at the end of the loan period.
That differs to the current deal the Brazilian has with Bayern Munich, and as the Bavarians appear to have been less than impressed with the player, they will be sending him back to the Camp Nou at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.
With both Newcastle and Everton apparently willing to invest heavily on the player, it means that Chelsea face a tough job in convincing him to move to west London.