Report Outlines Barcelona's Attempts to Sign Spurs' Christian Eriksen During Philippe Coutinho Chase

Tottenham Hotspur star playmaker Christian Eriksen was a reported target for La Liga leaders Barcelona back in January.

Per reports, the Danish midfielder was viewed as another option during the Catalan side's pursuit of Philippe Coutinho, before they eventually got their man.

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Coutinho had been a long-time target for the Spanish side, and their chase resulted in Liverpool losing a key player midway through this season. Yet as Sport Witness would have it, Spurs could have been the ones ruing a huge loss had things gone down differently.

It is understood that Eriksen was even approached by Barca, who opened discussions over a transfer to come in to replace the aging Andres Iniesta. The club are also reported as having sent scouts to watch the player perform on several occasions.

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Robert Fernandez, Barcelona's director, explained how the transfer would work and briefed the Dane on his role in the side if he made the move.

However, talks later broke down between Eriksen's representatives and the Primera Division outfit after they stepped up their chase of Coutinho following Liverpool's hardened stance.

Barca did land their target, parting with the sum of £142m to secure the deal, but not before being told that the Spurs star would not be a cheaper and easier alternative.

According to the report, the Spanish club were informed that landing Eriksen would be "as impossible as signing Coutinho, or even more so."

While Spurs did lose Kyle Walker to Manchester City last summer, they were able to keep all of their other stars, despite them having attracted attention from some of Europe's biggest clubs.