We hope to present another player – Robert hints at Barcelona deal for Coutinho

Barcelona technical secretary Robert Fernandez says the club hope to make at least one more signing this week, amid speculation of a final push to bring in Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool.

The Catalans are reported to have been negotiating with Liverpool representatives in England in the last 48 hours in an attempt to thrash out a deal before the end of the transfer window.

There have been claims that Jurgen Klopp’s side have finally accepted a deal worth €160million for the Brazil international, although there are conflicting reports stating that the Reds remain defiant in their desire to keep him at the club.

Speaking at the official presentation of €105m signing Ousmane Dembele on Monday, Robert admitted there are talks ongoing for at least one further arrival.

Asked about Coutinho, he said: “We are negotiating with another player about joining and we need to get this sorted because there is not long left in the transfer window

“We hope to present another player before the end of the month. My intention is for one player to come or maybe two, if possible. I won’t go in to names but I admit that the club is working on the possibility of signing new players.”

 Robert Fernández: “My intention is for another player to come, maybe two if possible” #DembeleDay pic.twitter.com/bbqNUJnW36

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 28, 2017

Barca had been expected to sign Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri until a deal collapsed last week, which prompted a furious outburst from the player in which he accused the Ligue 1 club of going back on their word.

Robert, however, suggested it was Barca’s decision to cancel the transfer as they instead look to bolster other areas of the team.

“No, he’s totally out of the picture,” he said of Seri. “We were sure that he was a good player, he could have done good things for our team but we’ve got other positions that are more of a priority at the moment.

“We’re worried about ins and outs. We don’t have much time left but we are convinced we will reach an agreement from the many options we have on the table.

“We’ve been talking with [head coach] Ernesto Valverde a lot about players that we would like to sign and who should be heading out of the club.

“By Wednesday, we should be able to issue a clear statement on the matter.”