Barcelona Transfer News: Philippe Coutinho January Move Discussed by CEO

Barcelona chief executive Oscar Grau has revealed the club are ready to sign Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho in the January transfer window.  

Mundo Deportivo has reported there is an agreement between Coutinho and the Reds that could see the playmaker move to the Camp Nou in January, and Grau encouraged the idea of the switch when speaking to the press on Wednesday, per Sam Marsden of ESPN.co.uk: 

"We are [financially] prepared to sign Coutinho or any other player in January. What we want is to have the most competitive squad possible. We will look at [signing players], even if there aren't any sales. The club will remain sustainable, we don't want losses and we have to continue to look for ways to generate income."

Barca pursued Coutinho—who was recently nominated for France Football's 2017 Ballon d'Or—in the summer after they lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for £200 million.

However, Liverpool would not budge from their position that the Brazilian was not for sale, turning down three offers, the last of which was worth £118 million, per Paul Joyce in the Times.

The saga is not over, though, and the Catalan giants are financially equipped to finally get their man, according to Grau.

Barca's key summer signing to replace Neymar, Ousmane Dembele, is sidelined with a tendon injury and unlikely to be fully recovered before the start of 2018, per Marsden.

Given the Camp Nou outfit consistently aim to compete for silverware on several fronts they arguably need more quality attacking depth.

Coutinho, 25, appears to be a primary target for Barca, and it looks as though they will aim to sign him again when the January transfer window opens.