Philippe Coutinho hopes to complete a long-proposed move to Barcelona this month but it will take the second highest transfer fee in history for Liverpool to consider selling the Brazil play maker. Liverpool rejected three bids from Barcelona in the summer, the third worth up to €130m (£119m) and including €40m (£36.6m) in add-one, with Jurgen Klopp stating the 25-year-old was not for sale. That stance has softened recently and Coutinho’s representatives have continued to explore the possibility of Liverpool sanctioning their client’s departure to the Camp Nou.

The former Internalization midfielder has responded impressively to his disappointment of the summer, when he had a transfer request rejected and missed the first few games of the season with a back injury. He has scored 12 goals in 20 appearances and has played a significant role in their progress to the Champions League knockout stage. Despite his wishes, Liverpool have yet to receive another offer from Barcelona and remain in a strong position over Coutinho’s future. He is under contract at Anfield until 2022 and has no release clause in the £150,000-a-week deal he signed only 12 months ago.

Barcelona would have to bid around €50m more than they paid to make Ousmane Dembélé the second most expensive player in the world, behind their former player Neymar for Liverpool to contemplate a deal that could disrupt the second half of a promising season. Coutinho missed the New Year’s Day win at Burnley owing to a minor thigh strain and is also doubtful for Friday’s FA Cup third-round home tie against Everton.