'Barcelona won't get Coutinho'
Despite the Catalans reluctance to concede defeat in their pursuit of the playmaker after Liverpool rejected a third bid, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague believes the Catalan club will miss out on Coutinho.
'Barcelona were not prepared for losing Neymar. Coutinho only became a target when Neymar left', Balague told Sky Sports, referring to Barcelona's determination to sign the Liverpool star.
According to Balague, the Catalans failed to prepare for Neymar's exit and with just 10 days to go until the transfer window closes, Barcelona are running out of options.
'Barca didn't work on deals for Jean Michael Seri in the eventuality a move for Coutinho failed, and they thought they had got Marco Verratti when they hadn't', the Spanish journalist said. 'Now Barcelona find themselves needing urgent solutions, but they won't get all the players they want'.
'If Liverpool are to be believed, they [Barcelona] won't get Coutinho, for instance, and they will have to go for other targets', he added.
Barcelona set a deadline for Liverpool to accept their bid, but Liverpool's reluctance to sell has led them to shift their attention to other targets.
'Barcelona set a deadline of 7pm on Sunday for Liverpool to accept their third for Coutinho', Balague continued. 'And that they would retract the offer if it was not accepted. Liverpool have not even answered, so that should mean that's the end of that'.
Failure in their bids for Coutinho could have a silver lining, according to the Sky Sports columnist. 'Lodging a sizeable third bid (or who knows, even a fourth or fifth) for Coutinho could help Barca negotiate better deals for other targets, though'.
Dortmund are sticking to their price for Dembele, but the situation allows Barcelona to negotiate, says Balague. 'They may be able offer a little less for their targets now, Ousmane Dembele, Jean Michael Seri and their third target, Angel Di Maria from Paris Saint-Germain', he concluded.