Chelsea has reportedly opened talks with Philippe Coutinho’s representatives as they hope to steal a march on his other suitors.
Coutinho has become a target of several teams this season after it emerged that Bayern Munich would not be signing him on permanently.
The Germans took him on loan this season and they have the chance to make his move permanent for £105 million. However, he hasn’t recaptured the form that made him one of the world’s most wanted players when he played for Liverpool.
A move back to his former side has been talked up but the Reds have no desire to bring him back and Barcelona is desperate to get rid of him and raise some cash.
Sun Sport claims that Chelsea knows there is a lot of competition for his signature with Arsenal and Tottenham also interested in signing him, but the Blues have opened talks with his agent.
Kia Joorabchian, who brokered Coutinho’s move to Barcelona in 2018, is close to the Chelsea hierarchy and the club has told him about their intention to bring Coutinho back to the Premier League.
This would be a major setback for Mikel Arteta who, according to the same report, had plans to make Coutinho his major creative force ahead of the new season.
This one still has a long way to go, Chelsea may have the upper hand right now but with so much up in the air anything can still happen and Coutinho may yet become an Arsenal player.
