Spanish football expert insists Barcelona turned down chance to land €60m Coutinho alternative

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Guillem Balague has suggested that Barcelona could have signed Mesut Ozil, but they have opted to turn down the chance to snap up the Arsenal ace.

The Catalan giants have been intensely linked with a swoop for Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho all summer, but a move has failed to materialise up to this point with the Reds unmoved on their stance that the Brazilian international isn’t for sale.

While the Spanish transfer window is open for an additional 24 hours compared to their English rivals, and so will close on Friday night, there is still the possibility of new arrivals at the Nou Camp.

However, as seen in the tweet below, Balague has ruled out the chance of seeing Ozil move to Barcelona as the club don’t feel as though his characteristics match what they’re looking for.

Further, Balague claims that an offer of €60m could have been enough to prise the 28-year-old away from Arsenal, and that would surely have been an excellent bit of business for the Gunners given that he has just 12 months remaining on his current contract and there has been no public suggestion that he’s edging closer to signing a renewal.

Coupled with the fact that he has faced fierce criticism from supporters and pundits for a while now due to his poor performances on the pitch, it remains to be seen whether or not he pens a new deal in the coming months.

However, he won’t be moving on to Barca any time soon and the wait goes on to see whether or not Ernesto Valverde is given more reinforcements in the final few hours before the window closes.

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