Paris Saint-Germain’s world-record signing Neymar has urged the club bosses to rope in Liverpool superstar Philippe Coutinho in January, according to reports.
Barcelona were desperate to sign Coutinho over the summer but despite repeated attempts the La Liga giants failed to convince the Reds to sell their most prized asset.
The Brazilian had handed in an official transfer request but Liverpool turned down Barcelona’s three back-to-back bids for Coutinho and he ended up remaining at Anfield and has now displayed incredible form for the Premier League club – with three goals to his name in as many games.
FootTheBall sources had revealed that Barcelona are still keen on roping in the Brazilian next summer and not in January as Coutinho will not be able to play for them in the Champions League, having played for Liverpool in their opening two games in the European top-flight competition.
But now Barcelona are set to face stiff competition from PSG for the Brazilian star – with the mega-rich Ligue 1 giants eyeing to steal Coutinho from under the noses of Barcelona in January.
Coutinho’s Brazilian team-mate and good friend has told PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to sign the Liverpool superstar in January, according to Spanish newspaper Sport.
The report states that Al-Khelaifi is now determined to sign Coutinho and is ready to match any transfer bid that Barcelona make.
And last week, Coutinho’s Liverpool team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum had revealed that the players would have been happy for the Brazilian, if he had left for Barcelona.
He told the Liverpool Echo: “It was difficult.
“Phil is a really good person and we understood why he wanted to make the move.”
“He’s someone who has always given everything for Liverpool. He has done a great job fighting for Liverpool.”
“On one side we would have been happy for him if he could have gone as he really wanted to make the move, but on the other side as team-mates you want him to stay because you know with Phil we’ll be better.”
“There were two thoughts in your head. You can see it from both sides. Someone was going to be disappointed at the end of the transfer window and it was Phil.”