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Arsenal are set to steal Philippe Coutinho away from Aston Villa this summer.
The Barcelona playmaker is enjoying a fruitful loan spell at Villa Park, having scored four goals and provided three assists in nine Premier League appearances since his January switch.
Villans manager Steven Gerrard is pushing for the West Midlanders to make the 29-year-old’s move permanent by paying his £33million buy-out clause.
But club chiefs are stalling over signing off the expense as it will also require a hefty wage payment, with Barca currently contributing more than 50% of the Brazilian’s salary.
Should Villa back out of the deal, the Gunners have put themselves in position to capitalize.
Spanish media report that Emirates bosses are monitoring the situation closely, with Tottenham and West Ham also said to be admirers of the former Liverpool midfielder.
Mikel Arteta’s men moved a step closer to securing Champions League football next season, which could prove pivotal to any negotiation, by sealing a 2-0 home victory against Leicester on Sunday.
The North Londoners sit a point ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United with three games in hand on the Red Devils.
In other news
While Coutinho’s departure can help Barcelona balance the books, the Catalan club are eyeing Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette as an inexpensive way to bolster their forward options.
The Frenchman, 30, is out of contract at the end of the season and transfer guru Ekrem Konur believes the LaLiga club are considering an approach that would see Lacazette reunited with former team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Meanwhile, Cesar Azpilicueta has seen his potential move to the Camp Nou take a backwards step with Chelsea having triggered his renewal clause, say Marca.
Finally, another deal seemingly off the table is the rumoured agreement between Manchester City and Luka Modric.
The 2018 World Cup finalist, 36, was linked with an Etihad switch but Marca understand he has now decided to sign a new contract at the Bernabeu.
