Barcelona’s Christmas wish list revealed as landing Philippe Coutinho, axing Arda Turan and signing Yerry Mina
Catalan giants are desperate to add to ranks in January with Liverpool's Brazilian superstar a high priority to boost La Liga and Champions League assault
BARCELONA have revealed their Christmas wish list, and have asked Santa to deliver Philippe Coutinho and Yerry Mina.
Barca suffered a terrible summer transfer window, losing superstar Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain and failed to placate fans as Liverpool refused to allow Coutinho his dream move to Spain.
However, Marca reports Barca will have another tilt at landing the Brazilian as part of a mid-season shake up at the Nou Camp.
The Catalans will also try again with PSG star Marco Verratti after taking a battering from the Spanish media about a poor summer of recruitment.
Boss Ernesto Valverde did manage to land full-back Nelson Semedo and Paulinho who have both settled in well.
But neither were signings to capture the imagination of the Catalonia faithful, despite now being five points clear at the top of La Liga and six ahead of bitter rivals Real Madrid.
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And the possible capture of Coutinho and Verratti in January will be a boost in the second half of the campaign.
Midfielder Arda Turan who has disappointed since his arrival from Atletico Madrid in 2016, could be offloaded in January as he looks to be surplus to requirements.
Turan has already snubbed a return to Turkey with his former club Galatasaray, with his current deal running out in three years.
Barca have a deal in place Palmeiras midfielder Yerry Mina, with the agreement he stays in South America until next summer.
But his arrival in Spain could be brought forward to January boosting Valverde’s midfield options.