Barcelona 'told' Liverpool are now demanding £134m for Philippe Coutinho in January

Liverpool are said to be willing to sell Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona during the upcoming January transfer window in a deal worth €150m (£134m, $176m).

Mundo Deportivo claims that Coutinho's agent Kia Joorabchian informed the Catalans about the new demands of the Premier League giants during a meeting that took place in London earlier this week as representatives from the La Liga giants has travelled to the capital for the Fifa's The Best awards gala.

Barcelona already tried to sign Coutinho during the summer but President Josep Maria Bartomeu has claimed in recent weeks that they were forced to abandon the pursuit on deadline day after Liverpool asked them to pay €200m or forget about his signing.

The new fee quoted by the Merseysiders is slightly lower but Mundo Deportivo points out that is still too much for Barcelona as the Catalans plan to offer the same €80m plus €30m in add-ons package which Jurgen Klopp's side already rejected in the summer.

Last week Mundo Deportivo said that Joorabchian was expected to meet with Liverpool officials in the coming days to convince them to let Coutinho fulfilling his wishes to join Barcelona in January.

The Spanish publications says that the meeting between the player's agent and officials from Anfield is still set to go ahead this week with the Catalans hoping that it helps to soften the stance of the Premier League giants.

Yet, Mundo Deportivo says that Barcelona still expects Liverpool to reduce their €150m current demands due to the player's firm indentation to move to the La Liga giants.

Furthermore, the reports points out that Liverpool and Coutinho reached an agreement in the summer in which the Merseysiders vowed that they will negotiate his transfer to Barcelona if the player didn't refuse to play the Champions League for Jurgen Klopp's side during the first part of the season.

Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo adds that Barcelona are determined to complete the deal in January because they know that the competition and the prize of Coutinho could increase in the summer if the Brazilian international stars in the World Cup.

Earlier this month, club CEO Oscar Grau already anticipated that Barcelona would be ready to break the bank in January to sign Coutinho or any other player if Vaverde and the technical staff believes that it is necessary to bolster the squad further.

"We are prepared to sign Coutinho or other players but the proposal has to come from the technical staff. We will do our best to meet their demands," Grau said during a press conference in which he revealed a club record budget for the 2017-2018 campaign of €897m.

"If there are arrival maybe there will be also departures. We are putting all the resources of the club [to improve the squad]. We could [sign in January]. We will study it if it necessary. The financial year runs until July so sales can also be made at the end of the season. If this is the case [If Barcelona sign players in January] we have to generate income and maybe someone have to leave. We will see it."