Chelsea seriously considering a move for La Liga champion

Chelsea are ready to make a concrete approach to sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, provided they manage to overcome their ongoing transfer ban.

The west London side are blocked from registering new players for the next two transfer windows but they are hopeful of freezing the embargo through an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Should that be successful, Gianluca di Marzio claims that the Blues will make a strong approach to pursue Coutinho, who has previous Premier League experience with Liverpool.

Coutinho has experienced a frustrating 18-month spell at the Camp Nou where he has struggled to impress on a consistent basis and reports indicate that the Blaugrana could be prepared to sanction his sale for around £133m this summer.

The Brazilian's departure is likely to help the Blaugrana stay clear of any Financial Fair Play concerns, given they have been fancied to pursue both Matthijs de Ligt and Antoine Griezmann in big-money moves.