Barcelona is set to count their losses on Chelsea target Philippe Coutinho as the Camp Nou directors are willing to sell him on the cheap when the transfer business commences.

Coutinho was loaned out to Bayern Munich after some disappointing display at Barcelona and the Bavarian directors are not set to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season as the Bayern Munich board feels he has not done enough to merit a stay in the team.

Sport says the Blues have attempted to steal a march on their rivals by contacting the player’s agent Kia Joorabchian, with whom they have a strong relationship.

Chelsea has shown a strong desire to sign the former Liverpool star and Barcelona feels it is the right time to offload him before the situation becomes worse off.

Barcelona would be willing to accept making a substantial loss on the player by selling him for as little as £53m. That would be £92m less than what they signed him for.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is a big fan of the player and has money to spend following the club’s transfer ban.

Chelsea is also keen on signing Lyon attacker Moussa Dembele.