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#1 Philippe Coutinho
With just a little over a month left to go in the summer transfer window, Barcelona are at a bit of a crossroads with Philippe Coutinho; do they count their losses and sell him off or give him some more time to prove himself?
The Brazilian international arrived in January 2018 amidst much fanfare as the heir to Andres Iniesta, but a year–and–half on from his arrival, those cheers have given way to boos as Coutinho has struggled to match the lofty expectations of him.
To his credit, the former Liverpool man remains one of the best players in his position and showed proof of this with his displays at the Copa America and while this might have been enough in any other era to suggest that he should be given more time, the reality on ground is that this viewpoint does not hold water.
In this modern age of increased financial investments and demands for quick returns, the bottom line is that the need for winning and desire for results far outweigh any altruistic or emotional intentions.
This is the reason why hitherto patient clubs like Manchester United have towed the line of rapid hiring and firing while traditionally prudent sides like Juventus and Atletico Madrid have become big spenders overnight in a bid to not get left behind.
Coutinho has had 18 months and 75 matches to prove himself which he failed to do and while this might not seem like a lot of time, it should be remembered that this was more than Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Andre Gomes got or even Malcom for that matter.
There are only three ways the Coutinho scenario could play out; firstly he could be sold off this summer for a slight loss on what was paid for him and everybody goes back to business, secondly, he could be given a second chance to prove his worth and he does so, cementing his legacy as a Barcelona player or he could spurn said chance and bring us back full circle next season to where we are, with the added disadvantage of having a reduced value.
Of the three scenarios, only one plays to Barcelona’s advantage and with this in mind, it would e in the interest of both Barcelona and Coutinho for the Rio de Janeiro native to end his Barcelona nightmare.
