Liverpool Reportedly Agree to Philippe Coutinho Negotiations with Barcelona

Liverpool have reportedly agreed to negotiate with Barcelona over a move for Philippe Coutinho, after "very positive" talks between the club's owners Fenway Sports Group and the Brazilian's representatives.

According to Joaquim Piera at Sport, Liverpool will sign a replacement for Coutinho before the close of the transfer window on Thursday, then the 25-year-old will be allowed to depart for Camp Nou in a deal worth approximately €150 million.

Per Piera, Liverpool want to sign a replacement before Coutinho leaves in order to avoid paying over-inflated fees for a replacement.

Barcelona confirmed they had signed Ousmane Dembele on Friday for an initial €105 million, plus add-ons. The youngster only signed for Borussia Dortmund last May for €15 million, per Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC.

According to Kicker (h/t Metro), Liverpool are interested in bringing in Renato Sanches from Bayern Munich, with Carlo Ancelotti happy to offload the 20-year-old this summer.

Sanches was left out of Bayern's squad to face Werder Bremen on Saturday with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic confirming he was absent "to think about his future," per Sky Sport (h/t Goal).

Bayern reportedly beat off interest from Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to sign Sanches last summer, for a fee of £27.5 million, per Jefferson Lake at Sky Sports.

However, the Portugal international has seen his development stall at the German champions, as he made just six starts last season and is yet to open his account for the Bundesliga side.

He could, however, prove a useful signing for Liverpool, particularly for the Reds in the Champions League, as illustrated by WhoScored.com:

Liverpool have already rejected a transfer request from Coutinho, per Sky Sports, who reportedly wants to move to Camp Nou.

Earlier this month, the club also rejected a third bid in the region of £114 million from Barca for the Brazilian, per Phil McNulty at BBC Sport.

Sky Sports' Guillem Balague, meanwhile, feels that the Catalan media's optimism that a deal can be done is misplaced and that Liverpool's stance that Coutinho is not for sale remains:

With the transfer window set to slam shut on Thursday, the chances of Coutinho moving to Barcelona continue to look slim unless Liverpool bring in a replacement and the Brazilian pushes hard for a move.

However, Barcelona have already spent a huge amount bringing in Dembele, and it would be a surprise for Liverpool to back down on their strong stance, having spent the majority of the summer insisting he would not be sold.