Chelsea FC are reportedly interested in pursuing the services of Philippe Coutinho on a season-long loan from Barcelona when the transfer window reopens this summer.
Coutinho is presently on a year-long loan stint with Bayern Munich but the German giants have already decided against activating the option to buy him on a permanent basis.
According to Sport, there are presently no suitors for his £84m price tag but the Blues are understood to be tempted by the prospect of signing him on an initial loan deal for £28.1m.
The temporary agreement would supposedly include the player’s wages as well as the loan fee and the Blues are likely to negotiate a buy option as part of the summer deal.
The former Liverpool man was linked with a Premier League comeback last summer and he was heavily associated with a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur before he snubbed their advances.
Chelsea FC were likewise associated with the Brazilian in the early part of the season but their decision to appeal their transfer ban without a freeze meant that they could make no new signings.
Frank Lampard’s side are expected to sign a new striker, attacking midfielder and left-back during the summer. They have already landed the services of Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech, who should bolster the wide attacking department.
Chelsea should be signing players now ahead of other teams before it will be late