The Brazilian did not travel with the rest of the squad, staying behind with a reported thigh injury. As speculation grows regarding a renewed bid from Barcelona, Coutinho has been absent from first-team action in recent weeks.
The Catalan giants are preparing a bid of £133m (£97.5m up front, plus £35.5m in add-ons) for their long-term target, who has opted to miss out on the trip to the Middle East as he looks to seal the deal in January.
Liverpool continue to make exhaustive attempts to persuade Coutinho to put off move to the Camp Nou until the summer, but it appears his mind is made up.
On Coutinho. Player hasn’t travelled to Dubai with squad. He wants it done ASAP. Willing to put some money towards fee. The figure should be close to €160M. No agreement yet between clubs but he would like it all done by next week. FCB would like to make announcement “very soon” pic.twitter.com/Joi98D6LE5
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) January 6, 2018