Coutinho, Costa, Di Maria – the big transfers to watch out for on La-Liga deadline day

The transfer window has closed in most of Europe but La-Liga remains open for business until 23.59 local time on Friday.

Published : Sep 01, 2017 18:02 IST

Thursday was a hectic day for the majority of European clubs as they frantically tried to get last-minute transfers over the line before the deadline passed.

The market is still open in Spain, though, with clubs in LaLiga and beyond having until 23.59 local time on Friday to conclude their business.

So who could be on the move?

 

BARCELONA STILL CHASING COUTINHO – AT LEAST

The Philippe Coutinho saga is not over yet, with the Brazil star still able to join Barcelona despite Liverpool's own transfer window having closed.

The play-maker starred in his country's 2-0 win over Ecuador on Thursday, showing few signs of the back concern that has kept him out of Jurgen Klopp's plans in recent weeks, and one final push from Barca to bring him to Camp Nou is expected.

Aside from a last-ditch Coutinho bid, which could be worth more than €160million, Barca has a handful of other options on the table.

Angel Di Maria is said to be willing to move to Camp Nou and Paris Saint-Germain is desperate to sell, having splashed out huge money on Kylian Mbappe on Thursday, to follow the world-record capture of Neymar from Barca.

There's also the question of whether Riyad Mahrez really is in Spain to thrash out a transfer to the Catalans and the latest reports have suggested Arsenal's Mesut Ozil could be a shock €60m target.

A handful of players could depart Ernesto Valverde's squad, too. Munir El Haddadi is said to be a target for Real Betis, while Andre Gomes must consider either staying at the club or joining a La-Liga rival on loan. Arda Turan has plenty of time to join Galatasaray, too, with Turkey's deadline open until the middle of the month.

COSTA IN, GAITAN OUT AT ATLETICO

Diego Costa is still, somehow, a Chelsea player but Atletico Madrid have time to strike a deal with the Premier League champion and bring him back to Spain.

If Costa arrives, at least one of Nicolas Gaitan and Luciano Vietto is expected to leave, with the former having been linked with a surprise move to Watford on Thursday.

There are also suggestions that Atleti could raid city rival Real Madrid to bring in midfielder Marcos Llorente , although Zinedine Zidane is said to be keen to keep him at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Of course, any attempted business for Atleti is complicated by their FIFA-imposed transfer ban, which means no new players can be used until January.

VALENCIA, SEVILLA EYEING BARGAINS

Sevilla snapped up Lionel Carole on Thursday but is still in market for last-minute deals, with Llorente apparently one such target.

Eduardo Berizzo is believed to want a striker and, having seen Lucas Perez return to Deportivo La Coruna, it could turn its efforts to other loan enquiries elsewhere.

Valencia is said to be looking to take advantage of PSG's need to offload players by signing Goncalo Guedes , most likely on loan, while it also offers likely escape routes for Gomes and Gaitan.

Alfredo Ortuno of Las Palmas is believed to be an Alaves target, especially if it is unable to tempt Munir from Barca, while last-minute moves for Fabian Orellana  and Alvaro Medran are expected.

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