Philippe Coutinho believes Liverpool will sell him to Barcelona in January after Champions League ‘deal’

PHILIPPE COUNTINHO believes he has an agreement with Liverpool to let him join Barcelona in January, according to claims being made in Spain.

Coutinho saw his dream move to the Nou Camp fall through over the summer when Liverpool refused to entertain Barca's repeated bids for their star player.

At one point the Brazilian appeared to be reluctant to train as his future was being debated - citing a back injury for missing the start of the season.

But once the summer transfer window closed he was left with no choice but to come back into the fold and work with Jurgen Klopp's squad.

Yet Spanish paper have today claimed Coutinho reached a compromise deal with Liverpool which would allow him to move to Spain mid-season.

They say Coutinho was considering downing tools at Anfield after the club rejected a bid worth up to £138million for the attacker on transfer deadline day.

But after showdown talks with boss Klopp, the 25-year-old is said to have reached a compromise agreement to keep playing for the Reds - so long as the club sold him in January.

As part of the claimed deal, Coutinho accepted he would have to play in the Champions League for the Merseyside club, even though it would cup-tie him should he eventually go on to leave.

The report says Klopp and the Anfield board accepted in return that they would have to listen to offers in January if Barcelona came back to the table.

One of the major problems Liverpool faced over the summer was having the time to find a suitable replacement for Coutinho if they sold their most creative player.

At least holding out until January gives Klopp the time to highlight and target the player he would want to fill the void left by the Brazilian.

Liverpool's problems could be made worse if they fail to make it out of the group stages in Europe before Christmas - and also if their Premier League challenge falters any further.

Klopp's side have wasted a string of chances as they were held to two draws in their first two Champions league matches this season.

So they need to start collecting wins quickly if they want to make it out of a relatively easy group which also includes Sevilla, Maribor and Spartak Moscow.

Domestically Klopp's side have struggled and are already seven points adrift of leaders Manchester City and Manchester United who both have 19 points.

Liverpool face United on Saturday knowing defeat would leave them ten points off the pace after just eight matches.

And things have not been made any easier with the news key man Sadio Mane will miss the match after being ruled out for for six weeks with a hamstring strain.

So if a title challenge is unlikely by the turn of the New Year, Liverpool will know they may find it hard to resist any approach Barca could make.

The summer transfer window was one the craziest we have ever seen.

Take a look at the most profitable transfers of ALL time.

And here are the Premier League players whose wages made them the most expensive per minute played.