Barcelona Transfer News: Latest on Paul Pogba and Philippe Coutinho Rumours

Barcelona have been dealt a double blow in their reported pursuits of Juventus' Paul Pogba and Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho. 

According to Luis F. Rojo of Spanish outlet Marca, Barca are simply not in a financial position to buy Pogba at the moment with their wage bill having increased €100 million (£74.1 million) on last season to €419 million (£310.3 million).

As Rojo explained, this leaves the Catalan club with very little expendable income: "This figure represents 73 per cent of the club's budget, when it has been recommended that this ratio should be somewhere between 50 and 70 per cent in order for the club to be financially sustainable. In other words, Barcelona have already overstretched themselves and any signings would only add to the load."

Juve midfielder Pogba has long been reported as Barca's No. 1 transfer target, but the Serie A outfit will only listen to offers in excess of €100 million (£74.1 million) for their star player, per Francesc Tomas of ESPN FC.

Barca are seemingly not financially stable enough at present to afford such an outlay, certainly not in the upcoming January transfer window.

Summer signings Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal will become available to turn out for Barca come January when the club's FIFA-imposed registration ban comes to an end.

However, they may not be able to completely solve the Blaugrana's depth issues, which have been exposed of late after injuries to Rafinha, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

Manager Luis Enrique is likely eager to add to his squad in January but the signing of 22-year-old Pogba currently seems an impossibility given his value.

Liverpool playmaker Coutinho would undoubtedly be a more affordable January purchase and recent reports had suggested the Brazilian was open to a move to the Camp Nou, per Spanish outlet Sport (h/t Jack Lang in the Mirror).

Jon Super/Associated Press

However, the 23-year-old is now eager to stay on at Liverpool and play under newly installed manager Jurgen Klopp, per George Bellshaw in Metro.

Coutinho seemed like a perfect potential fit at Barca—especially given his experience playing alongside Neymar for Brazil—but he has seemingly been persuaded to stay on at Anfield.

Barcelona's recent injury woes have exposed an alarming lack of depth in attack, which could still be apparent come January.

However, their financial situation and the unavailability of targets may result in a quiet January for Barcelona and they will likely have to defend their league, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles with the squad they already have.