Barcelona ‘very much waiting’ for Newcastle transfer approach
FC Barcelona are ‘very much waiting’ for Newcastle United to initiate transfer negotiations for Philippe Coutinho, according to reports.
The Magpies were bought for £300m by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) last month.
As soon as the takeover was announced, the north east club were linked with a flurry of big names.
Newcastle and spoon-fed media f**k up Emery as OGS disappears
One player immediately rumoured to be a Newcastle target was Barcelona playmaker Coutinho.
The Brazil star signed for Barca for over £100million from Liverpool in January 2018, but has struggled to fulfil the expectations of his hefty transfer fee.
And according to Sport (via Sport Witness), the Catalan club are looking to get rid of the player, and are willing to accept a loan with a compulsory purchase option to get him off the books.
The report adds that Ronald Koeman liked using Coutinho, but since the Dutch manager has been relieved of his duties the 29-year-old’s time at the Nou Camp seems numbered.
With this being the case, the Barca hierarchy are now ‘waiting’ to see what sort of offer Newcastle have up their sleeve.
Meanwhile, Unai Emery will turn down the chance to manage Newcastle for a number of reasons, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
The Magpies had identified Emery as their first-choice candidate to permanently replace Steve Bruce after a long process which narrowed the shortlist down to the Spaniard and Eddie Howe.
‘Emery will reject the approach from Newcastle,’ he wrote. ‘His doubts after the game had to do with not knowing the latest. And the latest – I think – was an unnecessary huge pressure on match day and not a clear vision from the club,’ Balague said on Twitter.
‘What does Eddie Howe have to do with Unai, for instance?
‘To build a club with the money available to Newcastle you need to bring a manager that will have total power to create the necessary structure to win regularly. I feel those in charge now don’t have that experience and want to be the ones taking decisions.’
