Barca confirm agreement in place with Bayern for Coutinho loan

Barcelona have agreed a deal to send Philippe Coutinho on loan to Bayern Munich, according to the club’s official spokesman Guillermo Amor.

Coutinho moved to Camp Nou in a reported €160million deal from Liverpool in January 2018 but has struggled to recreate the form he showed at Anfield.

The Brazil international had been linked as a possible makeweight in Barca’s attempt to bring back former forward Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Bayern emerged as favourites to land Coutinho and Amor, speaking to Movistar+ prior to Barca’s LaLiga opener at Athletic Bilbao, confirmed the move is imminent.

“It’s possible to confirm we have an agreement to loan Coutinho to Bayern,” he said.

The arrival of Coutinho will further help Bayern offset the departures of club legends Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, with Ivan Perisic having joined on loan from Inter this week.

Manchester City winger Leroy Sane had been a target, but Bayern’s attempt to pull off a deal was hindered by a serious knee injury sustained by the Germany international.

Barca’s agreement to send Coutinho will also cast doubt on their chances of signing Neymar, with the LaLiga champions thought to be pursuing a player-plus-cash deal.