FC Barcelona could announce the £90m signing of Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho this week

FC Barcelona are increasingly confident of signing Brazil international star Philippe Coutinho this summer, according to The Sun.

The La Liga giants, who sold fellow international team-mate Neymar to Ligue 1 outfit Paris Saint-Germain last week in a whopping world-record £200m deal, have been linked with replacing the influential forward with the Liverpool midfielder ahead of the forthcoming 2017-18 campaign.

The 25-year-old, who has 27 international caps for his country, scored 14 goals and provided nine assists in 36 appearances in all competitions for The Reds last season, who finished fourth in the Premier League standings, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

Liverpool’s Coutinho.

Coutinho, who arrived at Anfield back in January 2013 following his reported £8.5m switch from Inter Milan, has netted 42 times in 181 games overall for Liverpool, but has yet to lift an honour with the Merseysiders.

Despite manager Jurgen Klopp being desperate to keep hold of his Samba star ahead of the new top-flight season, the report suggests Barcelona are confident of luring the player to the Nou Camp this week in a deal worth £90m.