For the modern football fan, there is a cruel paradox at the heart of the game – one that provides joy followed by heartache in roughly equal measure. It is this: the better your player plays, the happier you are, and the more likely he is to be sold. It’s capitalism, or something.

And two men who have been playing very well recently are Philippe Coutinho and Manuel Lanzini.

The last thing Liverpool fans expected when they qualified for the Champions League in May was to end up selling their best player. But the problem is, for every moment of brilliance Coutinho provided for the Reds last season, the more attractive he became for Barcelona. In other words, he got too good for Liverpool’s own good. And as much as they’d like to keep him at Anfield, resistance may be futile.

ESPN Brasil reports that Liverpool’s board have agreed to sell the Brazilian playmaker to the Catalan giants for £90m – against the wishes of manager Jurgen Klopp – after the player expressed a desire to move to the Nou Camp.

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Claiming they have spoken to “a person close to the negotiations”, the South American website predicts that Coutinho will be a Barca player “within the next few days or hours”.

Remarkably, he would become the second most expensive player in the history of football (after his great mate Neymar – those two will be insufferable the next time they hang out together).

Ludicrous price tag

But don’t feel too sorry for Liverpool, because they are now set to venture down the football food chain and do to West Ham exactly what Barcelona have just done to them.

The Express reports that Klopp has made Hammers midfielder Lanzini his “No1 choice” to replace Coutinho – the Argentine having excelled at London Stadium to the extent that it has become dangerous for his club.

It’s that cruel paradox again, although the Irons will presumably attempt to soften the blow by putting a ludicrous price tag on Lanzini’s head, just as Liverpool did with Coutinho and Barca did with Neymar.

Meanwhile, the Mirror claims that Klopp is set to “give up” trying to sign Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk and instead put faith in the club’s existing crop of centre-backs. Although this sounds like a rather unlikely stance, especially if the Reds are about to receive a load of money for Coutinho.

Another man who is alleged to have had a sudden change of heart is Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, who the Mirror says has “accepted” that he is not for sale and will see out the final year of his Gunners contract before leaving on a free transfer next summer.

Elsewhere, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has “ordered” club chiefs to sign Monaco full-back/midfielder Fabinho for £40.6m (Express), Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Julian Draxler is the latest player linked with Barcelona as they aim to spend £200m in record time (Bild) and Stoke have agreed a deal to sign Schalke forward Jean-Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting on a free transfer (Mail), which is tremendously exciting news because he is the first footballer in Premier League history with five names.

@darlingkevin