Barcelona will reportedly make a formal approach for Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho within the opening week of the January transfer window.

The Catalan giants have held a long-standing interest in Coutinho and failed with three big-money bids for the Brazilian during the summer, despite the player making it clear that he wanted a move to Camp Nou.

Liverpool refused to sell the 25-year-old during the previous transfer window, but are expected to face another battle to hold on to him once the January window reopens on Monday.

The Mirror reports that Barcelona are ready to make a £130m move for Coutinho this week, and are confident of landing their number one transfer target next month rather than being forced to wait until the summer.

Liverpool remain reluctant to sell, though, and manager Jurgen Klopp recently rejected suggestions that they would need to cash in on Coutinho in order to afford their world-record £75m signing of Virgil van Dijk.

Coutinho has made 19 appearances for Liverpool in the Premier League and Champions League this season, scoring 12 goals and creating eight more.