Arsenal ‘enter fight’ for €40m Barca man – ‘main stumbling block’ emerges

According to reports, Arsenal have ‘entered the fight’ to sign Aston Villa loanee Philippe Coutinho permanently from Barcelona this summer.

The Brazilian returned to the Premier League in January as Steven Gerrard’s Villa signed him on loan.

This followed an underwhelming spell at Barcelona. He only played 76 times in La Liga from his three seasons in Spain.

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Coutinho has hit the ground running for the Villans. He has grabbed four goals and three assists from his ten league appearances.

Aston Villa have the option to buy Coutinho for €40m (£33m) this summer. But given his great form, Arsenal have ‘entered the fight’ to sign him.

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This is according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness). They state that Arsenal ‘have positioned themselves’ to bring Coutinho in.

The ‘main stumbling block’ preventing the Gunners from signing Coutinho are his wages. He is currently believed to earn €24m per year.

Although it is suggested that the player would take a pay cut as Coutinho always ‘gives the facilities to solve his future’.

Elsewhere, a €90m bid for Tammy Abraham will not be enough to ‘move’ AS Roma to the negotiation table, according to reports.

Abraham joined Roma last summer for a reported £40m fee and has been in superb form