Barcelona transfer news: How Eriksen's loss proved to be Coutinho's gain, Aguero's dad talks up Barca move and more - 18th April 2018

Agent reveals how Barcelona signed Coutinho over Eriksen

The Blaugrana completed their second deal over €100 million when they signed Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool this January after a long-drawn transfer saga. However, things could have turned out to be vastly different as per agent and Michael Laudrup's representative Bayram Tutumlu.

As per the agent, Tottenham's Christian Eriksen was wanted by the Catalan outfit but a deal did not materialize due to the 26-year old's agent Martin Schoots. Tutumlu said:

“I was invited to see Christian Eriksen in London in September, even though he was having a renovation of the house, and here he asked me what to do to get to a bigger club. I told him that a bigger club wants him."

“When I visited Barcelona with my associate Evren Sahin and Brøndby’s owner Jan Bech Andersen, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said that Christian Eriksen became the next big player from Denmark after Michael Laudrup.

“So I told Eriksen that Barcelona wants him. I also told Christian Eriksen that Barcelona is looking at more things when buying a player, not just his football qualities. And it ended with the fact that they bought Coutinho instead. This is because alone, his agent has destroyed it for him.”

Taking the current situation into consideration, this is a stunning reveal for Barcelona, Liverpool, and Tottenham. While the jury is still out on Coutinho, Jurgen Klopp's side have definitely lost a quality player and Spurs have massively benefited from Eriksen's performances this season.

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Sergio Aguero's father talks about potential summer move to Barca

Aguero and Messi playing together?

In another unexpected turn of events, Manchester City superstar Sergio Aguero's father has fuelled speculation regarding a potential move to Camp Nou in the summer.

The Argentine has just played a crucial part in the Manchester club's stupendous title win but the Cityzens' all-time top scorer is not the preferred striker for Pep Guardiola as he opts for Gabriel Jesus for his style of play.

While Aguero could possibly be contemplating over his future after the World Cup, his father Leonel del Castillo has just revealed an unexpected destination in Barcelona.

The latter spoke on his son's road to recovery from a medical procedure that he will be back within a month and then reflected on his future and whether he would make a move to Spain to play with his close friend Lionel Messi. Castillo said:

"It's possible. Next season, many players will change clubs. Whenever I ask him, Sergio tells me he's going to return to Independiente but he does not know when."

Thus, this could prove to be a dream scenario if Aguero indeed joins Barcelona. While it remains highly unlikely to happen, one can never say never in football.

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Barcelona enter race for Anthony Martial

Martial is struggling for game-time at Old Trafford

The Manchester United forward has seen his playing time cut short with the January arrival of Alexis Sanchez. The Frenchman needs to play regularly at his age and also to book himself a World Cup berth given the competition for places. Now, the Daily Mail reports that contract talks have stalled with the 22-year old as he is unsure of his playing time at Old Trafford.

Martial has failed to score since Sanchez arrived and is now being played on the right wing in order to accommodate the Chilean. Thus, Barcelona are looking to take advantage of the situation and are ready to bid £60 million for the striker in the summer as per the report.

This will be a huge blow for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United if Martial leaves the club given his potential. On the other hand, Valverde will get a forward who is very direct in his approach. Thus, an interesting summer is on the cards.