Philippe Coutinho, Arthur and Mesut Ozil: Barcelona's January dilemma
Barça want Coutinho but are working on other options
Arthur may come later and Ozil is an emergency option
Barcelona plan to sign in January. And the objective is clear. Apart from a centre-back in the case Mascherano leaves, they also want to sign an attacking player. There are various options and after several meeting it's been decided that Philippe Coutinho is once again the priority. They will make Liverpool an offer to sign him in January.
If there's no agreement, the Brazilian Arthur and the German Mesut Ozil are on the table. The dilemma is the price and the speed of the negotiations, although the club hope the Coutinho sage won't take too long to resolve either way, giving them time if they have to move on to other options.
Coutinho's still the top target. The club feel he has the quality needed. There's an agreement with the player, who has made a huge effort to get the deal done. Liverpool, though, want 150 million euros. Barça are more optimistic of a deal now than they were last summer.
TWO MORE OPTIONS
Without doubt, the new name on the scene is Arthur. The Gremio midfielder has convinced everyone at the club, who feel it's an opportunity they can't let pass. Barça have the player on board, but have to negotiate a fee, which could be 30 million euros -- his buyout clause is 50 million euros.
Sporting director Robert Fernandez was in Brazil and Argentina watching the midfielder in the Copa Libertadores final. Arthur hopes to move to Camp Nou. He doesn't know if it will happen in January or next summer, but his people are clear that Barça will move for him. Chelsea arrived too late. Barça are convinced.
The third name is Ozil. There are doubts but Barça met with his people to talk about a January deal. The main problem is Arsenal don't want to sell for less than 20 million euros and the player's asking for a lot of money -- his contract in London expires next summer.
No one doubts his ability, but his hot and cold form and his problems off the pitch could be problems. Ozil wants to come but knows he is not the first option. He's the joker that Barça have in the pack in January when they need to sign a quality player.
