Spurs have made an offer to sign Coutinho on loan, which may hasten the departure of Eriksen

Tottenham Hotspur have made a bid to sign Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona, with the Catalan club likely to charge about £21 million to complete the deal.

Sources in Spain have told The Times that Spurs have made a loan offer for the player, with Mauricio Pochettino having worked with Coutinho briefly at Espanyol.

The Catalan club paid up to £142 million for him from Liverpool in January 2018 and their preference is to sell him. But they are willing to let him leave on loan and have asked for a fee in excess of £21 million to do so. He earns more than £200,000 a week, which would make him the top earner at Tottenham if he were to join.

The north London