Barcelona identify Coutinho and Dembele alternatives and other transfer news and rumours of the day - 19th August, 2017
Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's latest transfer news and rumours roundup. Today's big story features the latest in Barcelona's bid to sign Neymar's replacement, while there are also updates from other big clubs in world football, some of which may have huge long lasting repercussions.
So let's head right in and take a look at the major happenings across Europe that made headlines on August 19, 2017:
La Liga
Barcelona identify Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele’s alternatives
Barcelona’s pursuit of Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho is well documented but the stance of Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool respectively, to not let go of their prized assets, has cast doubts on the Catalan club’s chances of signing them.
According to Spanish daily Sport, the Blaugrana have identified alternatives to the two in former Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria – who currently plays for PSG – and Nice midfielder Jean Michael Serie, who has also courted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
The most talked about release clause in football
Marco Asensio is close to agreeing a new contract with Real Madrid, which will keep him at the club until 2023 and will bump his wages by €1m to make it €4.5m, if reports in Marca are to be believed.
The biggest highlight of the new contract is the release clause, which has become €500m from the €79m it was previously. The Spaniard has been linked with a move to Arsenal.
Real Madrid reject huge bid for Mateo Kovacic
Real Madrid have already sold a couple of players in this transfer window and Zinedine Zidane is not too keen on losing any more players. According to Spanish outlet AS, Los Blancos have rejected a £68.6m bid for Mateo Kovacic from Juventus.