Barcelona still trying to tempt Chelsea into wasting money on Philippe Coutinho — reports

Barcelona have had no luck in their attempts to offload Philippe Coutinho thus far, despite offering him to just about any club with a decent amount of money to spend. Chelsea are near the top of that list, unfortunately, and Barca have yet to take a hint that the Blues have no interest in the 27-year-old.

Barcelona have tried different tactics to entice someone to take the bait, even offering the player on loan — still, no takers. But they’re in desperate need of money due to their intentions to sign Lautaro Martinez, and are now offering Coutinho for €50-€60m as long as they get a player (preferably defensive) in return, according to Diario Sport (via Sport Witness).

According to ESPN however, Chelsea are remain firmly focused on younger, better targets, such as a certain Kai Havertz. Kai may end commanding a fee twice as much as Coutinho, but would do so at lower wages and more importantly, at much greater value. (And that’s assuming Chelsea are in fact interested in adding more attacking talent after already agreeing transfers for Hakim Ziyech and, reportedly, Timo Werner.)

So, in the end, it appears that Barcelona’s marketing tactic to tempt the Blues will go in vain once again. They might want to try barking up a different tree next time.