Barcelona transfer news LIVE updates: Messi promised Dybala, Willian move, Di Maria latest

BARCELONA TRANSFER NEWS LIVE UPDATES: Latest on Angel Di Maria, Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and more…

Thursday August 24

Big spenders
14:00: Premier League spending in the current transfer window is already at an all-time record level, with a week remaining.

Figures released by Deloitte's Sports Business Group showed top-flight clubs had spent £1.17billion on players this summer by 9am on Thursday, breaking the record of £1.165m set last year.

That was already a 34 per cent rise on the previous record for a single window - and with time remaining this time around the numbers could rise to even more breathtaking levels.

Barca are buying the wrong player!
13:15: As Barcelona seek to prise Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho away from Liverpool ahead of the transfer deadline, fans of the Merseyside club may be relieved that at least the Spanish club are not bidding for Sadio Mane.

Another electric performance by the Senegal winger against Hoffenheim on Wednesday drew more rave reviews for a player who has become even more indispensable to Liverpool than the Brazilian.

Social media was full of jokes about whether Barcelona realise they are trying to buy the wrong player.

"If Coutinho's 100 and odd million, then Mane's 200 and odd million," said former England striker Ian Wright in a Twitter post that captured the mood on Merseyside.

Bartomeu plots double talks
12:45: Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu is planning to speak to his Liverpool counterparts over a deal for Philippe Coutinho when they meet for the Champions League draw in Monaco today.

Liverpool beat Hoffenheim 6-3 on aggregate to book their place in today’s 5pm group stage draw.

Delegates from all 24 Champions League clubs will descend on the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and Bartomeu hopes he will be able to speak to officials from Liverpool as Barcelona wait to discover their opponents.

That is according to Barcelona-based newspaper Mundo Deportivo, who claim Bartomeu will also seek out Borussia Dortmund’s chiefs to discuss a deal for Ousmane Dembele.