Barca 'study Spurs & Chelsea defenders that could be included in Coutinho deal'

Barcelona are reportedly looking at defenders at Tottenham and Chelsea that could be included in a potential swap deal for Philippe Coutinho.

The Brazil star is expected to leave the club this summer and wants a return to the Premier League with Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle the current frontrunners for his signature.

Coutinho had been offered to Juventus and Inter Milan but the two Serie A sides turned down the chance to sign him because they couldn't meet Barcelona's demands.

Barcelona are confident Tottenham and Chelsea will be able to finance a deal for Coutinho and have encouraged the clubs to put an offer on the table after informing them they would be open to a player being included.

According to Sport, Barcelona are looking for an upfront fee of around £55million and a player valued at £25m for Coutinho.

The LaLiga giants want to strengthen their defensive options and have reportedly began studying left-backs and centre-backs at Chelsea and Tottenham who they would want to included in the deal.

Newcastle, however, may be able to offer the £80m Barcelona are after in cash if their £300m Saudi Arabia takeover is approved.

Reports this week claimed that the Premier League side are already in discussions with the player about a possible move this summer.

The former Liverpool midfielder is currently on loan at Bayern Munich but will leave them at the end of the season after the German side passed up the opportunity to sign him permanently.

Coutinho only moved to Barcelona in a £105m deal back in 2018 but his time in Catalan has largely been disappointing after failing to live up to the billing.

The 27-year-old has scored 21 times and registered 11 assists in the 76 games he's played for Barcelona.

He has been in decent form for Bayern this campaign, scoring nine goals and laying on eight assists.