Barca set loan fee for one of Arteta’s ‘dream’ Arsenal targets
Arsenal have been given encouragement from Barcelona with the Spanish club requesting a minimum €10m loan fee, according to reports in Spain.
Coutinho has spent this season on loan at Bayern Munich after struggling to settle in at Barcelona, but the German club have confirmed they will not be purchasing him outright.
That decision has led Coutinho to set his sights towards the Premier League once more, where he previously enjoyed a successful spell with Liverpool.
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A number of Premier League clubs have been linked with the Brazilian, but ABC have suggested that Coutinho is at the top of Mikel Arteta’s wanted list.
Now, according to reports from Mundo Deportivo, the Catalan giants are willing to facilitate a second successive loan move.
The option of a season-long loan, with a €10m fee, has been mentioned, but Barca will now include an obligatory purchase clause, rumoured to be set at €70m.
That’s a significant drop on the €120m that Bayern baulked and may be within reach of Arsenal, who would have another 12 months to generate the funds to purchase the 27-year-old outright.
Earlier this month the player’s representative, Kia Joorabchian, denied any transfer negotiations had taken place as of yet.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Joorabchian said: “At the moment, we have not spoken to anybody about any deals whatsoever.
“I think at the moment everyone’s concentration is regarding this pandemic and how football can restart the season in a secure environment and over the health and safety of everybody.
“I think the transfer side of things and where he will go or where people will go will come into play down the line when things have got back to some sort of normality.”
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