According to new reports, La Liga giants Barcelona are set to end their interest in Philippe Coutinho and go after Arsenal‘s Mesut Ozil instead.
The Catalan giants have reportedly made the German midfielder their No. 1 transfer target in January as they feel he has two advantages over the Brazilian superstar.
Barca have long been linked with a move for Phil but couldn’t persuade Liverpool enough to agree to sell the player during the past summer transfer window.
They are however expected to reignite their move for him when January comes, but Mundo Deportivo claimed the La Liga club are set to make a move for Mesut Ozil instead.
The Catalan newspaper also added that the German has two advantages over the samba star, the first being that he would be significantly less expensive than Phil.
Ozil’s contract expires at the end of the season, and Arsenal will prefer selling him for cheap when January comes instead of losing him for nothing next summer.
Meanwhile, Countiho is valued at over £100M, and the Merseyside club are less likely to make him cheaper.
It was also said that Mesut would be eligible to play in the Champions League in the second half of the term since he has not played in the Europa League so far this season.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been rotating his starting XI in the Europa League, and even if he should make use of Ozil in the remaining two games, the Germany international could still be registered to play in the Champions League by the Catalan club.
