Barcelona are close to submitting a new offer for Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, with the Reds said to be willing to consider a bid of €150million, says Sky Sports journalist Guillem Balague.

Balague, who has established himself as a reliable source for elite information on Spanish football, news and transfer gossip, claims that Catalan media reports suggesting a bid had been submitted are wrong. However, he did report that a bid is soon to be made for the playmaker and that an offer of €150million would make Liverpool consider a deal.

Balague posted the update on his Twitter account on Thursday morning. Coutinho is Barcelona’s top target and reportedly, talks over a potential switch are poised to open this week. The potential transfer would bring an end to a saga that has gone on for the best part of 18 months and looked like it might come to an end last August.

The latest reports suggest that the Reds, in a bid to lessen the move’s impact, tried to postpone it until the end of the current campaign. According to Goal, there was a possibility of agreeing on an advanced deal ahead of the 2018/19 season. However, the Brazilian and Barcelona opposed it and are insistent on an immediate transfer.

While there has been some talk that Liverpool should wait until after the World Cup because Coutinho’s price might go up further, that specifically what the Catalans don’t want. They want to get it secured right now to avoid paying more.

Coutinho, in scintillating form for Liverpool after submitting a transfer request that was rejected in August, has been resolute on pushing a move to Camp Nou after five years of service at Anfield that has produced no trophies.

The 25-year-old’s departure will leave a large hole in Jurgen Klopp’s squad, with 12 goals and 8 assists coming from the Brazilian this term. But Coutinho maintains the stance that he cannot ignore the lifetime opportunity of playing for a prestigious club like Barcelona.

Klopp was hellbent in his stance that Coutinho was not for sale at any price in the summer, but with the playmaker maintaining his intention to depart and the Catalan giants on the verge of tabling an acceptable bid for his services, it looks a move is inevitable.

Frustrating, to say the least!