Barcelona could again offer Philippe Coutinho on a loan deal and reports said several Premier League clubs would be willing to discuss business with the Catalan giants. The Brazilian is slated to end his stint with Bayern Munich in the summer and the latest word is that the winger might be heading back to English football next season.
Coutinho is tied up with Camp Nou for annual pay of £26 million and it has been widely reported that the Catalans are planning to offload the Brazilian star, chiefly as part of the effort to generate cash due to the financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Daily Star, the Barca board has made it a priority to get Coutinho off the club wage bill, and there are several destinations mentioned. Said to be racing to sign the forward are Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United.
The most recent addition is Newcastle United, which would be an ideal new club for the fairly expensive Coutinho. The club is set to be taken over by a new Saudi owner, meaning it has the resources required to seal a deal with Barcelona.
However, Glen Johnson has called on Chelsea to make the move on the Barca outcast. According to Johnson, who used to play with Coutinho at Liverpool, his former teammate is a good signing for Blues boss Frank Lampard.
"He's a proper footballer. He's not the quickest lad and he's clearly not the biggest lad, but his brain, his sharpness, and speed of his football brain ... He just picks that pass and he's got that technique and perfect mobility in short spaces that opens up defenses, and that's something you can't teach," Johnson was reported as saying.
He further explained that Coutinho playing under Lampard could be the break that the struggling player has been searching for.
Johnson offered: "Lamps [Lampard] could be the man that puts his arm around him and makes him feel he is a key part of their plans, and I think that could force the best out of him."
In related news, Brazilian legend Rivaldo has offered his take on why Coutinho failed to shine in Barcelona when before joining the Spanish giants "he had the world at his feet.
The Barcelona hero thought that in part his compatriot struggled to make the Barca first-team due to the ever imposing presence of club captain Lionel Messi.
"It's never easy to find your space in a team where Lionel Messi constantly takes all the credit and responsibility ... There are few players in the world capable of reaching such a situation and imposing themselves, and maybe Coutinho didn't have enough patience to find his spot in the team," the Mirror reported Rivaldo as saying.
