Barcelona pull U-turn on Jean-Michael Seri transfer and may return with fourth bid for Philippe Coutinho

FC Barcelona have pulled a late U-turn, withdrawing from the deal to sign Nice midfielder Jean-Michael Seri and could make another 'final' bid for Coutinho.

The Catalan club had informed Liverpool that their third offer, which the Merseysiders rejected last week, would be their last. But late on Tuesday night the Spanish giants pulled their interest in Seri and told intermediaries that they will make their biggest offer yet for the Brazilian playmaker, a structured deal of more than £100m up front and which could reach £138m, after being urged to make a final push by the player's entourage.

Liverpool are once again expected to reject the bid and continue to insist that the 25-year-old midfielder will not be allowed to leave. The Independent revealed yesterday that Coutinho himself has begun to come to terms with the fact that the Reds will not sell him and he is planning clear-the-air talks with members of the Anfield hierarchy. Jurgen Klopp later confirmed that he would "100 per cent" welcome the player back into the fold.

At Barcelona, the disastrous summer continues. Having agreed outline personal terms with Seri the club suddenly changed course late on Tuesday and decided to look elsewhere. Angel Di Maria is now understood to be under consideration but it is another curious incident in a summer of barely believable incompetence from Barca.

Lionel Messi is still to put pen to paper on a new contract that was verbally agreed in early July, and hours after Barcelona had announced they were suing Neymar on Tuesday, the Argentina international posted a picture on Instagram posing with Paris Saint-Germain's new superstar.

Luis Suarez followed suit, and with the dissenting voices growing against the Barcelona board from within and outside the Nou Camp, this latest lurch in a different direction only further highlights how badly coordinated the club's summer transfer plan has been.

Ousmane Dembele does, however, look like a deal that Barca will finally get done, with the structure of bonus payments the final obstacle to his drawn-out and slightly fractious departure from Borussia Dortmund being confirmed. As impressive a player as the Frenchman is, though, and as much potential as he has, the Barcelona board still face a lot of pressure that some of them might not survive.