Barcelona are closing in on the signing of Jean Michaël Seri from Nice but still remain interested in luring Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool despite the rejection on Friday of a bid worth a potential £119m.
Seri, who has also been tracked by a host of Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, is expected to complete his move to the Camp Nou for €40m (£36m) this week after his representatives arrived in Catalonia over the weekend to discuss the transfer. It is understood the central midfielder, 26, has already agreed terms with Barça, although the clubs are still negotiating over the structure of the fee.
Nice would prefer to retain Seri until after the second leg of their Champions League playoff against Napoli on Tuesday night but it is anticipated he could be presented later in the week. Arsenal had indicated that they were willing to match Nice’s asking price last week, while Liverpool also showed a late interest in recruiting the player who excelled in his side’s third-place finish in Ligue 1 last season, but Seri’s first choice was always Barcelona.
His impending arrival means Barcelona will have spent a little more than a third of the record €222m fee received from Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar having also completed the purchase of Brazil midfielder Paulinho for €40m last week. Yet it is understood that Barça officials are still contemplating whether to return with a fourth bid for Coutinho, who made it clear that he would like to leave Anfield when he submitted a transfer request last Friday week.
A third offer worth a guaranteed €90m (£82.3m), plus a staggering €40m in add-ons, represented an increase of €5m and €25m respectively on their previous bids but it remains to be seen whether Liverpool would seriously entertain any further improvements.
Barcelona also retain an interest in Ousmane Dembélé, having seen a €100m bid for the 20-year-old France forward rejected by Borussia Dortmund this month. The German club are holding out for at least €130m, with Dembélé still suspended after missing training in an effort to force through the transfer.
Dortmund’s chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke, challenged Barcelona to match their asking price or move on but admitted he had lost respect for the Spanish side for unsettling their player.
“Dembélé is Barcelona’s first choice,” he said. “They have neither a plan B nor C because they know how good he is.”
Watzke added: “We met on a Thursday with Barca, and on Friday he didn’t show up for training. A coincidence? Two weeks ago, I considered Barca to be a big and respectable club, but I’m not so sure anymore.
“We told him we’d allow him [to leave], but not after only a year. We’re not budging on what we’ve asked for, not a penny. We can’t accept €30m less than what we’ve asked for. Right now, his transfer is 50-50.”