Barcelona offer Coutinho to Arsenal & Newcastle

The Liga giants are eager to get the former Liverpool star off their books and may be willing to sanction a loan switch to a Premier League suitor

Barcelona have offered Philippe Coutinho to Arsenal and Newcastle in an ongoing bid to free up squad space and funds that will allow them to launch a raid on Inter for Lautaro Martinez, Goal has learned .

Barca snapped Coutinho up from Liverpool in the winter window of 2018 , but have seen little return on their investment.

A season-long stint at Bayern Munich has only served to raise further questions of the 28-year-old’s form and fitness .

Barcelona are now looking to put another deal in place, with the Liga giants aware that they cannot incorporate another sizeable salary into their plans for 2020-21.

There is acceptance on the part of the Blaugrana that they are going to struggle to find a European suitor willing to take on both Coutinho’s wage and a sizeable transfer fee.

With that in mind, they have started to seek out potential landing spots, and Arsenal and Newcastle have been sounded out, with both clubs having been heavily linked with the midfielder in the past.

No answer has been received from either club as yet, with the Gunners and Magpies continuing to mull over the terms of a deal and their respective standings for next season – on both sporting and financial fronts.

Efforts to bring in alternative options, such as Argentina international Lautaro , can only be made if money is saved and raised elsewhere.