Barcelona are wasting their time over Philippe Coutinho, say Liverpool

Liverpool remain adamant that Philippe Coutinho will not be sold and insist Barcelona are wasting their time travelling to England to try to secure a deal for the Brazil forward.

A delegation of Barcelona directors comprising Oscar Grau, Raul Sanllehi and Javier Bordas were reported to have arrived in England on Tuesday morning as the club step up their efforts to sign Coutinho.

Liverpool rejected a £72 million offer from Barcelona for Coutinho more than a fortnight ago, but while there has since been further contact between the sides, the Merseyside club are adamant the 25-year-old will remain at Anfield.

Barcelona are flush with cash after the £198 million sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain and are eyeing his compatriot, Coutinho, as their ideal replacement and whether a bid of around £100 million would alter Liverpool’s thinking remains to be seen.

But while the Catalan club hope to make in-roads with their pursuit before facing Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday in the belief that Coutinho wants to join them, Liverpool are unaware of any plans for talks over the player and will not welcome any more approaches.