Balague says Barcelona have no intention of selling Coutinho amid Man Utd & Chelsea links. Philippe Coutinho is struggling at Barcelona.
The Barcelona forward enjoyed a promising first campaign at the club, scoring 10 times in 22 appearances.
However, he has failed to build on that success with a number of poor displays this season.
Coutinho has scored just six times from 27 games; a poor return from someone of his calibre.
The Brazilian player has even found game time hard to come by in recent times and some Barcelona fans are starting to lose patience with him.
Due to his recent struggles, there have been reports linking him with a move away.
A return to the Premier League could even be on the cards, with the Mirror even stating on the weekend that Chelsea and Manchester United are two clubs interested in him.
Guillem Balague has provided an update on Coutinho's future amid these exit reports.
The Spanish journalist, who works for Sky Sports, maintained that Barcelona have no intention of selling Coutinho and that they are confident he will eventually 'click'.
"They [Barcelona] have got absolutely no intention to get rid of him. None. Zero," he said on BBC 5 Live Sport. "They haven't entertained that idea.
"Right now he's very important to them. Dembele is injured for a couple of weeks. They have got to play the quarter-finals of the cup.
"They want to let him grow a little bit. At the moment he's not clicking. But he will, that's what Barcelona are saying."
Balague then directly addressed the rumours that Coutinho could be sold to either Man United or Chelsea.
"There are stories that come out in the English press, not the Spanish press, saying Manchester United one day and Chelsea the next," he said, per the Daily Express.
“It would be easy to guess where those stories come from. Perhaps from the same people that actually went to Barcelona and said ‘what’s happening here?’
“Those are the representatives of Coutinho trying to put pressure to Barcelona.
“Barcelona have got no intention to get rid of Coutinho. Do not believe right now the stories that put him out of Barcelona.”
So there we have it. It seems a move back to the Premier League for Coutinho is not a possibility as things stand.
Barcelona's stance could change in the future, though...
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