Newcastle’s €60m capture of Coutinho will see Barcelona miss out on top target

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It never rains but it pours for Barcelona, with the Catalans now being backed into a corner by want-away Philippe Coutinho.

Both the club and the Brazilian know that he has no future at the Camp Nou, but by offering the player to Inter Milan as part of the deal to bring in Lautaro Martinez, Barca believed that they’d killed two birds with one stone.

However, the deal to bring Martinez to Catalonia now appears to be dead in the water, with Don Balon reporting that Coutinho has not only turned down the opportunity to play for the Serie A club, but wants to play in the Premier League with Newcastle in the box seat.

The outlet confirm that talks with the Magpies are at an advanced stage, and whilst it’s thought that an offer could be made in the region of €70m, Don Balon believe that Newcastle could even get their man for as low as €60m.

Not bad for a player who cost Barcelona a record €160m a few seasons ago.

Such an amount, plus players, wouldn’t appear to be enough for the club to be able to secure Lautaro by paying his €111m release clause.

With the clause only in place until July 7, Barca president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, will need to work around the clock to come up with a solution.

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