Liverpool to accept Barca's fee for Coutinho in instalments

According to Spanish publication 'Sport', Coutinho's representatives travelled to Boston to meet with Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the parent company of the Merseyside club, and managed to agree with them that the player could be sold in January and the fee would not be up front.

The flexibility of the payment was one of Barcelona's demands during last summer's transfer window, but FSG saw that as a way of reducing the fee for the Brazilian playmaker.

That's to say, Liverpool still value the 25-year-old at 150 million euros, but they would no longer object to dividing that into an upfront fee and bonuses.

On the face of it, this is good news for Barcelona, but it could also be a double-edged sword. That's because it may open the doors to Paris Saint-Germain, another one of Coutinho's potential suitors.

Next summer, the side from the French capital will have to come up with the fee for Kylian Mbappe, and they will need to be careful not to breach any Financial Fair Play regulations. However, if PSG are given the same flexibility as Barcelona in terms of a transfer fee for the Liverpool star, then they would also be able to sign him in the summer.

For the moment, the Catalan giants lead the race for Coutinho's signature, and the player himself has asked his representatives not to consider any offers from France as he is focusing on getting his dream move to the Camp Nou over the line during the upcoming January transfer window.

Now the ball is in Barca's court, but they will likely have to sell someone before launching a January bid for the midfielder, who is No 1 on their list of transfer targets.