Spanish Football Expert Claims Liverpool Talisman Will Stay Until Barca Pressure Forces Summer Move

Philippe Coutinho will see out the season with Liverpool before considering a move to Barcelona in the summer, with the Reds unwilling to listen to offers from Catalonia in January, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.

The Brazilian playmaker was heavily linked with a move to the Camp Nou over the summer. However, Liverpool flexed their muscles and forced Barcelona to look elsewhere in the transfer market, with the likes of Paulinho and Ousmane Dembélé joining the Blaugrana instead.

"Liverpool's stance is the same," Balague wrote in his Sky Sports column, "meaning right now they don't want to negotiate with Barcelona. 

"They are not sitting down with Barcelona and are not setting a price for him. In the summer, it will be a different story, but they have no intention of selling him right now."

Although Coutinho's future at Anfield is mostly down to if Liverpool want to sell or not, Barcelona could lose interest in the former Inter star and start to look elsewhere in an attempt at bolstering their midfield.

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"The problem for Barcelona right now is that they don't have a huge amount of money," he continued. 

"Arthur Melo (of Grêmio) is still the priority, they will put in an offer for Coutinho but they aren't very optimistic as Liverpool do not want to sell right now. 

"It is absolutely necessary that they get one or two players in - one could be a centre back - if Mascherano leaves, which we will know soon. Mascherano wants to leave in January and he's asking Barcelona to let him go so he can play regularly before the World Cup and he has a huge offer from China."