Chelsea are convinced they can sign Barcelona outcast Philippe Coutinho on the cheap.

Coutinho is currently on-loan at Bayern Munich, though the Germans do not wish to sign him outright.

Sport says the Blues have attempted to steal a march on their rivals by contacting the player's agent Kia Joorabchian, with whom they have a strong relationship.

And it is thought Barcelona would be willing to accept making a substantial loss on the player by selling him for as little as £53m. That would be £92m less than what they signed him for.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is a big fan of the player and has money to spend following the club's transfer ban.