Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho has been in sumptuous form this season having scored 5 goals and provided 5 assists in 11 league games for The Reds. The 24-year-old is one of the best players in the Premier League and there has been rumours that both the Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona have him on their wishlist. However, esteemed Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué claims that Liverpool’s talisman Philippe Coutinho won’t secure a move to Spain anytime soon.
Balague thinks that Coutinho will remain at Anfield even after the next summer transfer window.
“Last time I spoke about Coutinho a few months back, I thought he wasn’t ready for Barcelona or Real Madrid,” Balagué wrote in his Sky Sports column.
“I can now see that he is the most talented player at Liverpool, he’s performing regularly, and is scoring. Yes, he is getting to that level where either Barca or Real can come for him.He needs a bit more glamour for Real Madrid to have big, big interest. For Barcelona, they need to decide what to do with Arda Turan, and then they have to decide whether a player like Coutinho fits on that team.”
“The problem with Coutinho as a No 10, he hasn’t got a place in a Barcelona 4-3-3. He has to play wide, or play deeper, but that isn’t his role, so it’s difficult to find a place for him. Let’s see who the manager is at Barcelona next season, or if Luis Enrique continues, but certainly, he would be so expensive that I couldn’t see Barca coming in for him just yet. At the moment, neither of them are in the equation, but let’s see how things progress.”
Coutinho arrived at Liverpool in January 2013 from Inter Milan for £8.5 million and has made 157 appearances in all competitions for the Reds racking up 34 goals and 34 assists. He has matured immensely as a player during his time at Anfield and now is a consistent performer for the Merseyside club. He certainly has enough about him to move to any of the big two in Spain, but the move may not be imminent.
Even though Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is an admirer of Coutinho’s talents, the club have been restricted from registering new players in the next two transfer windows by FIFA. Los Blancos’ arch rivals Barcelona see Coutinho as the player who has the calibre to take over from midfield magician Andreas Iniesta. However, the Spanish champions might not be able to afford Coutinho’s price tag.
Also, they already have Neymar who plays on the left side of the front three which is the same position where Coutinho currently plays for Liverpool. French champions Paris Saint-Germain are also keen on securing the services of the Brazilian.
Liverpool have made an impressive start to their season and are currently top of the Premier League. If Liverpool secure a top four finish or even win the league, the Spanish giants will find it more difficult to lure Coutinho away from the red half of Merseyside.
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