Valverde Claimed That Philippe Coutinho Is Set To Stay

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde claimed on Wednesday that Philippe Coutinho is set to remain at Camp Nou regardless of solid interest for the disrupted Brazilian from the Premier League.

The most recent announcement came after Croatian Ivan Rakitic score a 79th-minute victor to see off Napoli 2-1 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Previous Liverpool forward Coutinho has separated himself from a move to Tottenham – he was additionally connected with Arsenal – and with the transfer window in England closing Thursday, the chances of the 27 year-old coming back to England seem thin.

Previous Barca forward Neymar, at present at Paris St. Germain, has additionally been touted to make an exciting come back to the La Liga champions, in spite of the fact that it has now been recommended that main opponents Real Madrid are likewise weighing up a move.

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“The plan is to count on Coutinho,” Valverde stressed. “The transfer windows are open but we expect him to stay of course.

“And as for Neymar, the last time I came to this stadium I had to answer a load of questions about him. Two years later and it’s the same again. It’s like it’s following me. I don’t know what is going to happen.”

Croatian midfielder Rakitic struck with a crisply driven effort after an own-goal from Samuel Umtiti had canceled out Sergio Busquet’s opener for the Spaniards.

This was the first leg of two matches between these European giants with the second encounter taking place in Michigan on Saturday.

“It was a pretty open game and we were able to give many of the squad some minutes so it was a positive outcome for us,” added Valverde, who is without the injured Lionel Messi for this US mini-tour.

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Antoine Griezmann, Barcelona’s $134 million signings from Atletico Madrid, was lively from the start, linking up well with strike partner Luis Suarez.

Coutinho has traveled to the United States but wasn’t in the matchday squad having been granted extra time off following his exertions at the Copa America last month.