Barcelona 'considering' £55.2m deadline day move for Mesut Ozil as Philippe Coutinho alternative

Barcelona are said to be considering a desperate deadline move to sign Mesut Ozil from Arsenal if Liverpool refuse to cash in on Philippe Coutinho before the transfer window closes in Spain at 11:00pm BST on Friday (1 September).

Spanish radio station Cadena Cope says the Gunners have slapped a €60m (£55.2, $71.4m) price-tag on the former Real Madrid star – as the Germany international only has one year remaining in his contract at the Emirates Stadium.

Barcelona have already made five summer signings in the form of Paulinho, Nelson Semedo, Gerard Deulofeu, Ousmane Dembele and Marlon Santos - with the latter having since joined Nice on loan.

Earlier this week, club technical secretary Robert Fernandez admitted that they were still hopeful of signing two more players before the transfer window closes.

"We are negotiating to sign certain players," Fernandez said during a press conference held on Monday to unveil Dembele. "We need things sorted quickly as there are not many days left of the transfer window. We hope things progress well and that we are able to present another player this month.

"We're working on a number of possibilities. We have to wait. We know the type of player we want and the profile we need to improve the team and we will push until the last possible moment. My intention is that one more player comes in and, if it's possible, even two."

However, the Catalans are still to make any further additions to Ernesto Valverde's squad despite the transfer window in Spain set to close in hours.

Barcelona have had multiple bids rejected to sign Coutinho but it has been said that the La Liga giants are still preparing to test the resolve of Liverpool with a deadline offer worth around €160m.

Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez, Monaco starlet Thomas Lemar and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel Di Maria have also been touted as potential alternatives to Coutinho in recent hours.

Now, Cadena Cope has added a new name to the saga after reporting that former Real Madrid star Ozil is also on the Catalan's radar.

Furthermore, the Spanish radio station says that Arsenal have told Barcelona officials that the German international could be sold before the transfer window closes if the pay €60m for his services.

Arsene Wenger had been adamant throughout the summer that Ozil and former Barcelona star Alexis Sanchez are going to remain at Arsenal despite only having 10 months remaining on their current contract.

The Gunners boss also said the same about Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, however, before Arsenal agreed to sell him to Liverpool on Thursday.