Barcelona facing familiar Coutinho problem amid summer transfer challenge

Barcelona have found themselves in an all too familiar position concerning Philippe Coutinho this summer.

It comes after another attempt to offload the Brazilian, who has had a nightmare time at his dream club.

Since arriving from Liverpool in 2018, it has been a steady decline for the playmaker - who did everything in his power to join Los Cules.

A succession of managers have failed to get the best out of him including Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and now Ronald Koeman.

Every summer Barcelona have looked to sell the midfielder but have failed to find a buyer, though Arsenal and Manchester United have been interested in the past.

Ultimately, they have looked at other options with Mikel Arteta signing Martin Odegaard on loan in January.

While the Red Devils moved for Bruno Fernandes, who has completely transformed the club since his move.

Bayern Munich did take the Brazil international on loan in 2019, inflicting further misery when he came off the bench to score twice against his parent club in the Champions League in a shock 8-2 victory.

The Bavarians went on to win the tournament that season but decided against taking Coutinho on a permanent basis.

Now according to AS, Barcelona are experiencing the same problem with the former Inter Milan star.

The club are desperately looking to offload their fringe players after a disastrous financial year.

Even prior to Covid, Barca's books were in a state after a number of huge transfer fees including Frenkie de Jong, Ousmane Dembele and Coutinho himself.

Koeman would love to see the back of the Samba star to bolster the club's coffers.

But as of yet, there are no offers on the table - neither any registered interest, meaning it could be another tough year for Coutinho.

The 29-year-old missed large segments of the season through injury and is away from the Brazil squad at the moment through a similar problem.

His contract expires in the summer of 2023 meaning his value is still protected yet Barcelona might have to drop their asking price in order to garner some interest.

As mentioned, Arsenal had previously eyed a move for the ex-Liverpool ace and could revive their interest.

It comes after Odegaard returned to Real Madrid but Mikel Arteta is keener on a move for Lyon playmaker Houssem Aouar.