Liverpool have rejected a second bid from Barcelona for star man Philippe Coutinho – but they are expected to make a third offer before the end of the week.

Barca are looking to fill the void left by Neymar – who joined Paris Saint Germain last week – and they have targeted Coutinho and Borussia Dortmud’s Ousmane Dembele.

Both players have made it clear to their clubs that they want to move to Barca, and Coutinho is hoping that Liverpool agree to his departure.

The first offer rejected was worth around £75million and this second bid is £90million. Sources now believe that a third bid in excess of £100million will be lodged with the Anfield club before the end of the week.

Barcelona believe that the fact Coutinho wants to make the move to the Nou Camp, will prove to be a key factor.

Bookmakers firmly believe, as they have for a number of weeks, that Coutinho is Barca-bound.

We spoke to PaddyPower, whose spokesman Lee Price told us: “Liverpool might be playing hard-ball, but Barcelona play tiki-taka. That’s why we make it heavily odds-on (4/6) that Coutinho does indeed head to the Nou Camp.

“I’d also offer a similarly short price that it’ll go right down to the wire.”

Football INDEX is a stockmarket game where players, known as Traders, take a position on the “future success” of footballers with real money – CLICK HERE to play and start winning, and take advantage of your £20 cashback only with TheGamblingTimes.