The future of Philippe Coutinho is one of a number of issues Barcelona need to find a solution to.
The Brazilian has finished his loan spell with Bayern Munich, who opted not to exercise their option to buy him for 120 million euros.
He will now return to the Camp Nou to hold talks with Ronald Koeman, who wants to know the player’s intentions before making a final decision on the matter.
Coutinho will tell the new Blaugrana boss that he’s not sure about staying at the club beyond the summer.
Instead, the midfielder would rather return to the Premier League.
It was in England, under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool precisely, where Coutinho enjoyed the best years of his career to date.
Various Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, have enquired about his situation.
For what it’s worth, Arsenal could benefit from the excellent relationship they have with the Brazilian’s agent.
The problem for Coutinho and Barcelona is finding a club who are willing to pay his 15m euro net wage per year.
There are very few clubs able to pay that kind of money in the current climate, which is bad news for Barcelona.
If they can’t move the 28-year-old on, they’ll have to pay his salary themselves, pushing back their aim to reduce the wage bill at the club.
The prospect of having Coutinho back on the wage bill has forced Barcelona to try and find a move for him this summer.
The Catalan club aren’t, however, willing to accept any offers under 80m euros at the moment, which is why a loan deal is the most likely option.
Coutinho’s loan move to Bayern has worked out well for his parent club, who were able to demand 8.5m euros in a loan fee and offload his wages for a season.
That deal was agreed over a year ago, though, and the lack of disposable income in the current market makes a similar move more difficult this time around.
If nothing comes to fruition, Koeman will be happy to have the Brazil international in his squad next season, even if the club won’t be.
