Chelsea open negotiations with Philippe Coutinho

Chelsea have taken the first step in an attempt to sign Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho. According to reports in Spain (h/t Mirror), the Blues have already entered negotiations with the midfielder’s camp over the possibility of a summer transfer.

Coutinho moved to Barcelona in January 2018 from Liverpool. But the 27-year-old has endured a difficult time at Camp Nou. Having failed to make the desired impact, he was shipped off on loan to Bayern Munich last summer.

Bayern Munich have no intention of signing Coutinho on a permanent basis. And Barcelona, too, are keen on offloading him, as they look to generate funds to sign Lautaro Martinez and Neymar in the summer (h/t Mirror).

This has sparked a lot of interest among the Premier League clubs, with Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal all interested in signing Coutinho (h/t Mirror).

The report claims that our club has already made the initial move to try and sign the 27-year-old, by opening negotiations with his agent, Kia Joorabchian.

It is believed that Chelsea have a good relationship with Coutinho’s agent, which is likely to give us the edge in the race to sign the Brazilian (h/t Mirror).

More Chelsea News

• Chelsea dealt a blow in pursuit of Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez
• Frank Lampard to be handed £150m war chest to rebuild Chelsea
• Willian opens up on roadblock in contract negotiations with Chelsea

Our first season under Frank Lampard has been a solid one, considering that there was no investment made over the last two transfer windows. We are currently fourth in the Premier League table.

But for us to take the next step and bridge the gap on the likes of Liverpool, new players need to be brought in.

Coutinho, despite his malaise at Barcelona, remains a quality player with a proven track record in the Premier League. It remains to be seen if we are able to get our hands on the Brazilian though.