Report: Coutinho submits transfer request after Liverpool's refusal to sell

Liverpool released a statement Friday insisting Philippe Coutinho will remain with the club beyond the summer transfer window despite reported interest from teams such as Barcelona.

However, shortly after the statement was published, various reports emerged suggesting Coutinho has submitted a transfer request and that he is eager to reach an amicable solution.

Coutinho has apparently grown frustrated by the way in which Liverpool has handled the transfer saga, Ed Aarons of the Guardian reports.

Meanwhile, James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo suggests Liverpool's stance remains unchanged and that the club will not facilitate a transfer.

Barcelona has reportedly identified Coutinho as its top transfer target in the days since Neymar parted ways for Paris Saint-Germain.

It's believed Barcelona has submitted a pair of offers, with the latest bid allegedly worth €100 million (£90.7 million), but Liverpool's owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), have remained adamant over its stance that Coutinho will not be sold this summer, and appears to have attempted to close the matter with a brief statement on the club's website.

"We wish to offer clarity as regards our position on a possible transfer of Philippe Coutinho.

"The club's definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes."

News of the statement was relayed to manager Jurgen Klopp, who revealed Coutinho will be unavailable for Liverpool's first match of the Premier League season against Watford on Saturday because of a back injury.

"I think if somebody, in this case FSG, is saying something like this it is the statement," Klopp said, according to the Guardians' Aarons and Andy Hunter. "I think I have said it already a few times, but maybe that's not 100 percent clear.

Former Liverpool midfielder John Arne Riise condemned the manner in which Coutinho's transfer request unfolded.