New Delhi: It has been one disappointing transfer window for FC Barcelona, who usually is seen attracting the most talented bunch of footballers, but have contrarily seen one of the brightest talents in world football, Neymar Jr. leave for Paris-Saint-Germain in in world record EUR 222 million deal. The club management, however, have identified two prominent stars – Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho and Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele - to fill the void left by Neymar's departure.
While there have been reports that the Spanish giants have already sent men to both England and Germany to complete respective deals, the players are expected to cost Barca close to EUR 200 million in total, considering their respective clubs' reluctance to sell.
Barcelona's earlier bids of £72million and £80million for Coutinho were reportedly put down by Liverpool but as per a report in ESPN Deportes, an agreement between the clubs has been made after the Brazilian had put pressure to leave the club while also clarifying his intentions to manager Jurgen Klopp.
Despite Coutinho's interest in a move away, Liverpool are not expected to agree to a fee under €110m from the La Liga club.
It is also believed that Dortmund have slapped a €150m price tag on Dembele, but Barca are looking to chop off €30 million from it before agreeing on a deal.
Spain's Mundo Deportivo and Germany's SportBild claim that Barca chief executive Oscar Grau has led a delegation of club officials to Dortmund to finalise terms over the Dembele deal.
The Frenchman has been highly impressive in his debut season with BVB, scoring six league goals and assisting a further 13 in just 32 appearances.
Coutinho, on the other hand, has been the one of the Reds' best player since Luis Suarez' departure and played a key role in the club's top 4 finish last season.
