What does it take for the media to leave Philippe Coutinho out of transfer discussions? At the rate media is churning out news and the rate at which the analysts are discussing the Brazilian, only an affirmative transfer will shut the door on the news about Coutinho (I doubt that too!).
The latest to weigh in with thoughts on the Brazilian playmaker is football pundit Jason McAteer. He thinks that the transfer of Coutinho from Liverpool to Barcelona is as good as done.
Ever since Barcelona sold – or should we say, forced to sell – Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, the Catalans were circling Anfield to sign Coutinho. There were three failed bids of varying amounts and even though the player wanted a move to Nou Camp and set his heart on the transfer, the Reds management kept firm on their stance of ‘no sale’ until the end of transfer window.
But, that hasn’t stopped rumour mills as we keep hearing reports from Spain that the Catalans are considering a January bid. They feel that the Brazilian is still interested in the move after spending the start of the season sulking over the move that didn’t materialise.
"He will go in the summer." Former @LFC star @McAteer4 thinks @Phil_Coutinho will move to @FCBarcelona at the end of the season. #PL #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/BpeQPqIQp0
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) October 26, 2017
And, McAteer believes that there is something in this transfer that reminds him of Luis Suarez situation and that the Brazilian is on the cusp of a move to Barcelona next summer.
McAteer told beIN Sports: “Do you want me to be completely honest? I think Coutinho will go in the summer. I think it was another Suarez situation. I think it was: ‘Give me [JurgenKlopp] another season. Just give me one more season.”
“And, at the end of the day, you would feel Coutinho would worry whether Barcelona would come back for him.”
Reports earlier in the month indicated that Coutinho may have reached a gentleman agreement with the club. The Reds’ management was quick to quash any such reports. However, it is well known that the situation is still frosty.
Should the club look to sell him? Coutinho is undoubtedly one of the best Liverpool players and has shown his commitment to the club’s cause after coming back into the team after the transfer debacle.
That said, let us hope that the player is not distracted by these continuous rumours. It is a ploy often used by the Spanish clubs to drum up support for a move and go behind their target with gusto. Whether he moves or not is a different proposition. For now, I would be happy if Coutinho answers these reports with goals!
https://youtu.be/Wa96_NTEm3I
