Barcelona chief addresses how close La Liga giants are to signing Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona chief Pep Segura has given an abrupt response when asked about the La Liga giants attempts to sign Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho ahead of the coming season. Yet, the sporting manager of the football area did admit that the club are working to bring "two or three" players before the end of the transfer window.

The Catalan club have already made three additions to the squad this summer in the form of Nelson Semedo, Gerard Deulofeu and Brazilian youngster Marlon Santos. Yet, they are still expected to break the bank to bolster Ernesto Valverde's squad further after having lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in a world record €222m (£201m, $262m) transfer.

On the weekend it was said that Liverpool ace Coutinho, Borussia Dortmund winger Ousmane Dembele and Real Sociedad centre-back Inigo Martinez have already given the green light ahead of making the move to the Nou Camp, with Barcelona now needing to convince their clubs to complete the signings.

Catalan publication Sport is reporting that Coutinho's move is now "only a matter of hours" from completion after Barcelona officials travelled to London to finalise a deal worth €90m plus add-ons with their Liverpool counterparts.

Other sources claim that the Merseyiders want at least €120m to part ways with the player with Jurgen Klopp having reiterated that he wants Coutinho to stay at Anfield.

But asked by the Spanish TV whether the deal is as close as some sources are suggesting, Segura just replied: "If Coutinho's [deal] is heating up, it's because we are in August and it's very warm. He is the player of another club so we can't say anything about him right now."

"We are working on two or three options to improve the great squad of players we already have."

Segura also urged the club to move on from Neymar's unexpected departure to PSG: "Neymar is gone, these things always surprise but the Brazilian now form part of our brilliant history. There is nothing more to comment. We need to talk about the future," he said.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu already criticised Neymar and confirmed that Barcelona have reported the transfer to Uefa amid suggestions that PSG could have broken the financial fair rules to sign the 25-year-old.

"Neymar is now history and he wanted to go. He could have been clearer before and the way things were done was not right," Bartomeu added. "There are ways to do things, no one can be bigger than the club and we have reported the move to UEFA."

"We are a club with 118 years of history, great players, over 140,000 members, it is ours... the members and not owned by a sheikh or an oligarch. The loyalty shown by Leo Messi or Andres Iniesta should be an example. Leo Messi continues to be the leader of this side."