Joey Barton has told talkSPORT it’s no longer a question of if or when Philippe Coutinho leaves Liverpool, it’s simply how much they force Barcelona to pay for him.

The Anfield club rejected a bid of £114million for the Brazilian midfield ace before the weekend, and the Catalan giants reportedly set a deadline of 7pm on Sunday to get the deal done or they would turn their attention elsewhere.

But Barton doesn’t believe that will spell the end of the speculation, and he still expects the move to happen.

Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, he said: “He [Coutinho] wants out, and if you’re getting up to what are they now, almost £120m, it just looks like how much rather than if or when.

“He’s not a Scouser, he’s a Brazilian. He’s already living a fair distance away from home and he’s probably grown up wanting to play for Barcelona. No disrespect to Liverpool, but that’s the club Brazilian youngsters grow up wanting to play for nowadays. It’s not the Liverpool of the 80s, it’s Liverpool who haven’t won a title for over 20 years, so you can’t blame the boy.

“As I said, it’s just a case of how much and at what moment he goes.”

And Barton believes Liverpool should have been better prepared to guard against the danger of losing their star man.

“Liverpool should have pre-empted this,” he added. “They should have known a big club was going to come sniffing for him and, although he’s difficult to replace, they should have had replacements lined up for him.”