Manchester United are lining up an unusual transfer for Philippe Coutinho, according to Jack Otway of the Express.
Manchester United Lining Up Unusual Transfer for Philippe Coutinho
Coutinho’s Premier League Experience
Philippe Coutinho is not short on Premier League experience. The Brazilian playmaker was arguably Liverpool’s best player in the mid-part of the 2010s, scoring 54 goals and assisting 45 in his 201 appearances there, but left in January 2018.
With the race to sign him having been long, and involved many teams, Barcelona emerged victoriously. They paid £142 million for his services, with the hope that he would move to the Camp Nou carrying over his form from Liverpool. This, however, did not occur.
Flop in Spain and Germany
A high transfer fee can weigh heavily on a player’s shoulders, and while some excel after an expensive move, others flop.
Coutinho’s move to Barcelona would certainly be categorized as the latter.
With just five goals in 34 La Liga appearances last season, and not having been particularly in the campaign prior, Barca loaned Coutinho out to Bayern Munich with the hopes that it would reignite his career.
Although it got off to a promising start, with four direct goal involvements in his first three starts, Coutinho’s move to Germany has not had the desired effect.
He has struggled to recreate the form he had while at Liverpool, and looks set to return to the Catalan giants in the summer, and may move on from there.
Why a Move to Manchester United is so Unusual
With the Glazers a big fan of Coutinho, it might be difficult for Solskjaer to suppress a move for the Brazilian, whether he fits with the team or not. The problem is, that despite his undoubted ability, a move for him makes little sense.
Having signed Bruno Fernandes in the January transfer window, the Manchester United team looks reborn. They have not lost a game since his debut, and are playing better too, with Bruno able to provide the creativity and the passing prowess that United so desperately needed. This is Coutinho’s area of expertise, but the Portuguese playmaker would, no doubt, start ahead of him, leaving Coutinho without a place in the first team, and certainly not worth the large transfer sum which Barcelona would demand.
Furthermore, the club have limited funds, and with expensive deals for Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham and Jack Grealish on the table, prioritizing Coutinho would make no sense.
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