Barcelona slash Philippe Coutinho asking price to €80m — report

The Coutinho-to-Chelsea rumors have gained traction in recent weeks, and with the Blues now seemingly behind Manchester United in the race to sign Jadon Sancho, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Chelsea make a serious move for the midfielder in an attempt to add to the team’s attack.

There are certainly apprehensions about the finances involved, but if the Evening Standard were to be believed, Coutinho could be available for a discounted price as Barcelona “will consider” bids of €80m-€90m.

When Bayern Munich took the 27-year-old on loan last season, Barcelona inserted a €120m buy-option in hopes of breaking even with the transfer fee they paid in 2018. Bayern are unlikely to exercise that option however, so Barcelona may have to sell him at a loss to balance their books. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely impact the revenues of every club and Barca will certainly need all the help they can get to acquire one of Neymar or Lautaro Martinez (acquiring both is not an option anymore it seems).

Other than Chelsea, Leicester are also looking at the former Liverpool long-shot-merchant. Tottenham also had an interest in the past and there is a chance that even more clubs could get interested, especially if Barcelona keep dropping the price.

While ideally, Chelsea should try and acquire Coutinho only on loan, signing him permanently at a discounted price is definitely better than paying €30 just for a season!

(Ed.counterpoint: FALSE, not acquiring him at all is the only definitely better choice.)