Barcelona outcast emerges as top Newcastle target

Newcastle could well mark their pending takeover with the high profile capture of Coutinho from Barcelona, reports The Daily Star. 

A consortium headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is closing in on the big money takeover of the Magpies. 

And it has seen Newcastle linked with a number of big name stars in Europe, including Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly. 

Coutinho is another who is supposedly being courted by Newcastle, with the new owners likely to look into making a statement signing once their takeover goes through. 

Barcelona are open to selling Coutinho this summer with the 27-year-old enduring a difficult 18 months in Spain on the back of his arrival from Liverpool in 2018. 

Coutinho is currently on loan with Bayern Munich, but the Bundesliga giants have rejected the option to sign the Brazil international and a Premier League return at this point looks likely. 

Liverpool have moved to distance themselves from rumours of a possible return to Anfield for Coutinho, but Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham are keeping tabs on the attacker. 

The Brazilian may have struggled for game time in the second half of the Bundesliga season, but eight goals and six assists have contributed towards a WhoScored rating of 7.27, that among the best of on-loan stars in Europe this season.