Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have signed Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho on loan for the season.
The move is likely to ensure All Whites midfielder Sarpreet Singh remains with the reserve team for his first season at the German club.
Singh moved to Bayern in June and featured heavily in the pre-season, before being named on the bench for the German Super Cup clash a week ago.
But with the arrival of midfielders Ivan Perisic and now Coutinho, Singh will have to bide his time for Bayern II.
Bayern will pay a loan fee of NZ$13.93 million and pay Coutinho's wages for the duration of his stay, but they have the option of making the deal permanent, for a fee, at the end of the season.
Coutinho, who joined Barcelona in January last year, was the third most expensive transfer in history, but he failed to hit the same heights at the Camp Nou as he did with Liverpool.
"FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich have reached an agreement for the loan of the player Philippe Coutinho to the German club for the 2019/20 season," Barcelona said in a statement.
"Barcelona would like to publicly thank Philippe Coutinho for his commitment and dedication and wishes him all the best in this new stage of his career."
Coutinho will wear the number 10 shirt previously worn by Dutchman Arjen Robben, who retired at the end of last season.
"We've been working on bringing in Philippe Coutinho for quite some time and we're very happy that we've been able to complete this transfer," Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.
"Our thanks go to FC Barcelona for agreeing to the transfer. With his creativity and outstanding skills, Philippe is a player who will immediately strengthen our attack."
Bayern, who drew their first league game 2-2 with Hertha Berlin last weekend, play away at Schalke this weekend.
Reuters
