Barcelona transfer news: Iniesta on Coutinho, Dembele sale under consideration and more - 16th January 2018

Andres Iniesta not worried about Coutinho

The Barcelona legend is in the twilight of his career at 33 years of age and is no longer the vibrant force he used to be in every match. The club-record signing of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool for £142 million was expected to cost Iniesta his place in the side in the long run.

However, the Spaniard shrugged off the rumours and in fact, heaped praise on Coutinho by opening up to Onda Cero, (as quoted by Goal.com) where he said:

“I'm a player for this club and I've always said that only the best can play for this club. That makes Coutinho one of the best. He's young and he has an innate talent, while Barcelona are a club where he can keep growing."

“That side, there will never be a player that can make me retire or kick me out of here. At 33 years of age, that isn't the issue. Coutinho has come here to improve us. I'm happy that he's one of the best players in his position."

"He has the things that we like. He's a quick and skilful player, who links up very well, uses both feet very well, creates goals and scores them. He'll find a very good environment to grow here."

Thus, Iniesta appears to welcome Coutinho and also, the latter is cup-tied to play in the UEFA Champions League, which ensures that the veteran midfielder will definitely get games for this season at the minimum.

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Ousmane Dembele sale under consideration

Dembele is yet to make an impact at Camp Nou

The 20-year old joined Barcelona in the summer from Borussia Dortmund for an initial fee of £96.8 million as a replacement for Neymar. He suffered a hamstring injury in the third game for his new club and made a return recently after undergoing surgery. However, after just four games, the Frenchman suffered another injury to the same left thigh.

According to BBC Sport, While the latest setback is not a cause for concern with the club stating that the attacker will only be out for a month, the Catalan side are already considering his sale, as per reports in Don Balon.

Valverde is looking to sign Atletico Madrid's star forward, Antoine Griezmann this year and the Blaugrana are looking to use Dembele as a potential makeweight to seal the deal.

On one hand, it does sound ludicrous that the third-most expensive player in history will be sold before being given a proper chance. On the other hand, if the club are keen on recruiting Griezmann, then one can expect Barcelona to go the distance in the market.

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Barcelona set to sell quartet for €80 million

Rafinha has been linked with a move to Inter

The Blaugrana have signed their top two targets for this month in Coutinho and 23-year old centre-back Yerry Mina. Now, in order to recoup a part of the outlay and trim the wage bill, the Catalan outfit are looking to sell four players, as per reports via Mundo Deportivo, via Italian outlet Calciomercato.

Javier Mascherano's departure has been in the works for some time now and the arrival of Yerry Mina is reportedly set to trigger his departure to Hebei China Fortune for a fee of around €10 million, as per reports in Diario Sport, via The Sun.

Gerard Deulofeu re-joined his boyhood club this summer after a good season with AC Milan. However, he finds himself on the fringes of the squad and is looking for a way out. He is not short of suitors with the Milan clubs and Napoli reportedly in for him.

Inter have also expressed interest in taking Rafinha to the San Siro, as per several reports. The La Masia graduate has failed to live up to the expectations at Camp Nou and is set to depart in the coming weeks.

Finally, Aleix Vidal is another player the Spanish giants are looking to offload with interest from former club Sevilla and Italian side AS Roma.

Thus, Barcelona are expected to sell these four players to trim the squad and make space for further rebuilding in the summer.