Chelsea favourites to sign Brazilian ace

Chelsea have emerged as the front-runners to sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona when the transfer window reopens.

The Brazilian is currently on a season-long loan spell with Bayern Munich where he has fared decently with eight goals and six assists in the league.

Still, the Bavarian giants have opted against signing him on a permanent deal and he is expected to find a new club during the summer transfer window.

According to The Express, the Blues are presently leading the race to sign the former Liverpool man but they would prefer an initial loan deal for the attacker.

The west London side are reluctant to pay the Blaugrana's £90m asking price at the moment and they are only interested on a temporary agreement with the option to buy at the end of next season.

Coutinho has also been linked with a possible move to Manchester United but that appears unlikely to happen, particularly after the impact made by January signing Bruno Fernandes.