Six Premier League clubs interested in 29-year-old Barcelona ace

Four years after his ill-fated move from Liverpool, Barcelona may finally be close to offloading out-of-favour midfielder Philippe Coutinho in the ongoing transfer window.

The 29-year-old has been a huge dud at Camp Nou since arriving in a club-record deal. A loan move away to Bayern Munich in 2019/20 failed to rekindle his career and he has been either injured or overlooked since returning to Barça.

The Catalans have been making intense efforts to try and offload him so as to get rid of his massive wages, which can help facilitate the registration of new signing Ferran Torres.

While the midfielder was initially reluctant to move, he recently accepted his fate and decided to move on, in order to put himself in contention for the World Cup later this year. Now, Sky Sports is reporting that the ex-Liverpool ace is closing in on a return to the Premier League, with as many as six clubs interested.

Indeed, speaking on The Transfer Show, Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol said: “There are lots of clubs interested in signing Coutinho, including six Premier League clubs, as well as clubs abroad. “But he wants to come back to England and to return to the Premier League.

“I’m told no club is in pole position at the moment to sign him. I don’t think he knows where he’s going, but he’s got lots of options and his representatives are speaking to different clubs. We’ve seen his move to Barcelona hasn’t worked out, it’s been very stop-start. He wants to go somewhere where he can settle and play regularly.”

While he mentions that no club is in the lead at the moment, there have been speculations that Aston Villa may be close to signing the Brazilian. Moving to Villa Park could see Coutinho reunite with former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard.

Apart from the Midlands club, there have been links to Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Everton and Newcastle United, while Liverpool have also been credited with an interest in re-signing him. It remains to be seen where he ends up, but a move away from Barcelona is looking increasingly likely.