Barcelona 'offer wages deal' to Newcastle United over Philippe Coutinho

The midfielder has been linked with Newcastle United since news broke of a proposed £300million takeover of the club.

Coutinho is on loan at Bayern Munich, but the Bundesliga club are not expected to activate a buy option in the agreement, and Barcelona, according to the Daily Telegraph, are prepared to pay some of his wages next season. The Brazil international is understood to earn more than £200,000 a week.

Chelsea have also been linked with 28-year-old Coutinho, who joined Barcelona from Liverpool for an initial £105million in 2018.

Newcastle’s future recruitment hinges on the Premier League, who are yet to make a decision on the takeover, which is 80% funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Steve Nickson, United’s head of recruitment, drew up a list of potential targets before the deal was agreed.