Philippe Coutinho could be key in Barcelona’s pursuit of Lautaro Martinez

Barcelona could use Philippe Coutinho to entice Inter Milan to sell.

Philippe Coutinho may very well hold the key in Barcelona’s hope to sign Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez.

According to Diario Sport, the club could use the Brazilian in a deal that would see him return to Inter; where he spent the 2013 season before signing for Liverpool.

Both Coutinho and the club think the best move is a change of scenery and this latest proposal would certainly fit the bill.

Once Bayern Munich officially declined to pick up his option, the La Liga giants knew that they were now faced with the task of finding him a new team.

In other words, coming back and playing for the Catalans again was never going to be an option.

Barça and Inter Milan have been in negotiations for a while now regarding Martinez. They’ve floated around the likes of Arturo Vidal and Junior Firpo to try to finalize a deal but to no avail.

While the Italian side publicly remain adamant that they will only accept the €111 million release clause, they would be willing to take players if they were to their liking.

For example, Inter wanted Arthur Melo but both he and Barça made it clear that he is not for sale.

Coutinho would be an interesting option for Inter. His stint back in 2013 may not have been entirely fruitful but he then truly burst onto the scene with Liverpool.

At Inter, he’ll have another intense manager in Antonio Conte and one may be able to get the best out of him. Something that no manager has been able to do since Jurgen Klopp.

Plenty of Premier League teams are also interested in the Brazilian with a move back to England being his first choice.

Whether he is sold or included in a deal for Martinez, it looks like he needs to be the first domino in order for Barcelona’s transfer plan to get going.