Corinthians president Duilio Monteiro Alves has declared they want to sign Philippe Coutinho.

The Aston Villa midfielder has emerged as a target for Corinthians this season and Alves admits they're keen to close a deal in January.

Alves told Globo: "We talk about it, we talked about it and we still talk about it, but it's far from being a reality.

"He has a contract, he has just been sold to Aston Villa, but we have to try. It's a very difficult job. They want to sell, and Corinthians wants a loan.

"Although there is an open window in Europe, we will achieve virtually no loan success as they want to sell. But it's something premature. It's difficult, but I'm trying."