Everton 'willing to meet Barca demands to sign Coutinho'

Everton has emerged as a front-runner in the race to bring Philippe Coutinho back to England, capitalising on strong links between Merseyside and Catalonia.

The former Liverpool creative midfielder is not in Barcelona's future plans, failing to impress after his £130million move in January 2018, making just 76 appearances for the club before being cast out to Bayern Munich on loan.

Coutinho has shown flashes of his world-class ability in Germany, including a stunning performance in a 6-1 win over Werder Bremen, firing in a classy hat-trick and assisting twice.

However, with Bayern reportedly unwilling to extend the one-year loan deal, the Nou Camp side want to see the back of the Brazilian for good.

Everton is keen to take the star off Barca's hands and is willing to accept their demands of an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy, according to Sport.

It is also reported that a return to Liverpool is off the table, with the world champions uninterested. A move to Everton would further sour the relationship between Reds fans and the player, after Coutinho's mid-season exit back in 2018.

The signing of Coutinho would truly kickstart Carlo Ancelotti's transformation at Everton, after already hoisting them from a relegation scrap to challenging for European qualification after taking over from Marco Silva during the first half of the campaign.

The relationship between the Nou Camp and Goodison Park boardroom's has developed in recent windows, with Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne all joining from the LaLiga side.

Coutinho will also be excited by the prospect of working with Everton's in-form pairing of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and countryman Richarlison.

However, they could face competition from fellow up-and-coming top four contenders Leicester, with Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers the man who initially brought the playmaker to England.