Bayern Munich have confirmed they have agreed a deal in principle with Barcelona for out of favour midfielder Philippe Coutinho.
Coutinho, who was left out of Barcelona’s squad for their surprise LaLiga defeat to Athletic Club on Friday night, will spend the season on loan with Bayern pending a medical.
Barcelona have been looking to offload Coutinho all summer just 18 months after shelling out £142m to sign the 27-year-old from Liverpool.
Ernesto Valverde’s side had hoped to use Coutinho in a player-plus-cash swap deal to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain but that is seemingly no longer on the cards.
Coutinho is poised to fly in to Munich to finalise a move in the next two days and fill a hole in their squad vacated by James Rodriguez.
The Colombia international spent the previous two seasons on loan at the Allianz Arena but Bayern opted against making his switch permanent and he returned to Real Madrid this summer.
Coutinho’s move to Bayern leaves Barcelona’s pursuit of Neymar up in the air, as they do not have the cash reserves to sign their former player outright.
Bayern’s breakthrough in pursuit of Coutinho is also a huge boost for Real Madrid, who are also vying for Neymar’s signature this summer.
PSG would rather sell Neymar to Madrid than Barcelona due to the poor relationship between the two clubs and Zinedine Zidane’s side are considered favourites for the wantaway Brazilian.
Coutinho has played a direct hand in 20 goals in 42 league appearances (13 goals, seven assists) since joining Barcelona from Liverpool.
