This archive report was first published on 5 August 2019.
Philippe Coutinho: Unai Emery Denies Loan Discussions with Barcelona ¶
Philippe Coutinho has been linked with a loan switch to Arsenal, but Unai Emery has denied any discussions with Barcelona over the proposed deal.
Coutinho joined Barcelona in January 2018 in a five-year deal, but has failed to live up to his billing, scoring just 21 goals in over 75 appearances for the Catalan side.
Barcelona are reportedly willing to offload Coutinho this summer and would consider allowing him to leave on a season-long loan for a substantial fee in the region of £27.4m.
However, reports in Spain suggest that Coutinho is not open to any loan move and still wants to stay at Camp Nou to fight for a starting role.
Speaking after Arsenal's 2-1 friendly defeat to Barcelona, Emery insisted that no discussions have been held between the two clubs over the transfer of the former Liverpool hitman.
"We've never talked about Coutinho. He's a splendid player, but we haven't talked about Coutinho at any time," Emery was quoted saying.
Coutinho was an unused substitute in the game, which saw Luis Suarez score late to gift Barcelona a 2-1 win as they lifted the Joan Gamper Trophy.
