The Philippe Coutinho saga continues
Whilst some claim that the Liverpool playmaker will undergo a medical whilst on international duty with Brazil, others report that Neymar is attempting to convince the player to shun a move to the Camp Nou.
With less than 72 hours to go until the transfer deadline it appears that time is running out for Barcelona if they hope to make the Liverpool star a part of their squad going forward.
Following the signing of Ousmane Dembele, Barca officials suggested that they were still hoping to bring two players to the club before the deadline but they now face a race against time to do so.
Despite all their posturing, Barca have made not real progress on the deal to bring Coutinho to the club for some time now and it is all turning into something of a mess.
Liverpool maintain the player's absence has been down to a back injury, yet he has been deemed fit enough to go on international duty. A Brazilian doctor has another theory, suggesting that Coutinho's absence may be down to 'stress'.
It appears to the outsider, quite obvious that the 25-year-old is hoping to be allowed to leave Anfield and make the move to the Camp Nou but there is much debate about everything else.
Conflicting reports emerged in the Spanish press on Tuesday about how the deal could progress with Coutinho with the Brazil squad.
Sports daily 'Sport' claims that the player could do his medical whilst on international duty, thus speeding up a potential deal. However, Catalan newspaper 'Mundo Deportivo' claims that former Barca star and close friend of Coutinho's Neymar is trying to convince the player against joining Ernesto Valverde's side.
It appears that Coutinho finds himself in something of a quandry, with Neymar on one side telling him not to go and Barca new boy Paulinho on the other telling him to make the move to Catalonia. But for their advice to even become an issue, Barca must first convince Liverpool to sell.