Barcelona expect to complete a move for Philippe Coutinho in the next 48 hours

Philippe Coutinho is expected in Spain today to sign for Barcelona (Picture: Getty)

Barcelona expect to complete a move for Philippe Coutinho in the next 48 hours after the Brazilian said goodbye to his Liverpool team-mates ahead of a £142m transfer.

Reports in Spain on Friday night claimed the two clubs had settled on club record fee for the playmaker with the La Liga giants paying £107m up front for the Brazil international.

Coutinho was desperate to move to the Camp Nou in the summer but Liverpool have finally granted him his wish and AS are reporting the midfielder will travel to Barcelona today to finalise his deal.

The 25-year-old is said to have already said his goodbyes to his team-mates as they’re embarking on a mid-season trip to Abu Dhabi and Coutinho could be in attendance for Barcelona’s clash against Levante tomorrow.

Coutinho’s been granted his wish of joining Barcelona (Picture: Getty)

Coutinho’s transfer means he will become the second most expensive footballer of all-time behind Neymar and the fee received is a record for Liverpool.

Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup third round at Anfield without Coutinho and it was new signing Virgil van Dijk that struck the winner.

Van Dijk struck a late winner on his Liverpool debut (Picture: Getty)

The Reds spent £75m – a record for a defender – on signing the Southampton ace and Red Bull Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita arrives this summer on a £55m deal.

Jurgen Klopp, though, remains keen on strengthening other areas of his squad and will be given a significant amount of the Coutinho deal to do so.