Barcelona reach agreement with Liverpool to finalise Philippe Coutinho's transfer

Barcelona are edging closer towards completing a deal to sign Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho in the summer transfer window.

The Catalan club sanctioned Neymar's world-record sale to Paris Saint-Germain after the French capital club triggered his €222m (£198m, $263.7m) release clause. The former Santos star's sale has forced the club to act quickly to find his successor.

According to ESPN Brasil, Coutinho has emerged as a target for the La Liga giants. Barcelona have reached an agreement with Liverpool, which will allow the Spanish side to bring Coutinho to Camp Nou.

The former Inter Milan man has already expressed his desire to leave Liverpool for the Blaugrana. A back injury forced him to miss the Reds' last pre-season fixture against Athletic Bilbao.

Jurgen Klopp has constantly reiterated his desire to keep the Brazil international at Anfield, despite strong interest from Barcelona. Although the former Borussia Dortmund manager wants to retain the player, the Reds are willing to sanction Coutinho's sale.

Barcelona officials travelled to England and held talks with the Reds. The former's director of football Raul Sanllehi is leading the talks with Liverpool chairman Tom Werner for the transfer of Coutinho.

After the latest meeting with the Merseyside club's representatives, there is a belief that Coutinho will soon be the new addition to Ernesto Valverde's side. The Premier League side agreed to the sale of the South American star on Saturday, according to ESPN Brasil.

Liverpool have given up their attempts to convince Coutinho to continue in the Premier League as he is set to join Barcelona. The Reds have identified West Ham United's Manuel Lanzini as his replacement at Anfield.

The deal will cost around €100m (£90.3m, $118m) for Barcelona and they have the funds at their disposal following Neymar's sale. With the two clubs agreeing a deal for Coutinho, the process of completing it should speed up and the midfielder could seal his switch to Spain in the coming days.

Coutinho will join Inigo Martinez to become Barcelona's new face in the squad for the 2017/18 season, reports ESPN Brasil. The Spanish defender will make a switch to Camp Nou from Real Sociedad after Valv'rde's side decided to trigger his €32m (£29m, $38m) release clause.

Martinez is expected to sign a five-year deal at Barcelona. They have already completed deals to sign Nelson Semedo, Gerard Deulofeu and Marlon Santos. The defender and Coutinho are set to become the Catalan outfit's fourth and fifth signing of this summer.