Barcelona manager, Quique Setien, has claimed that Philippe Coutinho may still be at the Camp Nou come the start of next season if no one meets the midfielder’s valuation.
There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the Brazilian’s future after it emerged that Bayern Munich would not be taking up the option to buy him at the end of the season, with the Mirror establishing Spurs as one of the front runners for his signature.
The midfielder’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, also revealed that the 27-year-old would be open to a return to the Premier League (Sky Sports).
Sport (via Sport Witness) reported earlier in the week that Spurs had some work to do if they wanted to bring the former Liverpool star to North London as Chelsea are already in negotiations for him.
However, Setien has now poured cold water over these rumours by insisting that he likes Coutinho very much and that he could stay out at the Catalan giants.
Speaking to radio station RAC 1 (as relayed by the Mirror), the Barca boss said: “Coutinho? I like him very much.
“He is still a Barcelona player. You have to pay the clause or a transfer fee to Barca. I think he can be here at the beginning of next season.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“I don’t know if he wants to come back or go away again, I have to talk to him to ask him. He is a great player, no doubt about it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Managers are always expected to tow the party line and so I suspect Setien wouldn’t give anything away even if negotiations were at an advanced stage. I believe Coutinho is more likely to end up at Chelsea as I just cannot see us paying the kind of money Barca are likely to demand for his services.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
