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It’s deadline day in England, and while Liverpool remain focused on incomings more than outgoings, there were bound to be a few Philippe Coutinho rumours that came up before 11PM BST rolled around—and maybe even a few afterwards given the transfer window in Spain runs a full day longer than in England.
We now have our first major Coutinho rumour sightings, with Catalan reports of an imminent deal having been picked up by the English gutter press. For those keeping score at home, the long and the short of it is that Coutinho is now meant to be announced by Barcelona by 7PM this evening.
Coutinho situation unchanged. #LFC adamant (as they have been all summer) that he's staying put.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) August 31, 2017
No word on whether that’s 7PM British time or European time, the latter of which would bump it back to 6PM in Liverpool. Either way, it’ll just be six or seven hours to figure out if this rumour is true. And if it’s not, somebody will just say Coutinho to be announced by 7PM tomorrow and we’ll do it over again.
For their part, Liverpool continue to insist through connected journalists that the player is not for sale at any cost and that as Coutinho has five years to run on the contract he signed in the spring and no buyout clause, they will not be bullied by the Catalans or Coutinho.