Barcelona will see more of Philippe Coutinho in the new season as the Brazilian's agent confirmed a move to the Premier League is no longer an option for the Champions League winner. Coutinho has started training with the Catalans and Kia Joorabchian said that indicates his agent is set to campaign with the club moving forward.
The Barca man spent the last season on a loan deal with Bayern Munich and it proved a successful stint for him. With the Bavarian side, Coutinho won the Bundesliga title and capped the season campaign by getting his hands on the Champions League trophy.
Bayern hammered an 8-2 win against Barcelona, Coutinho's parent club, in the competition's final match, and ironically, the Brazilian playmaker scored two goals as his contribution to the La Liga giants humiliating defeat.
On that feat, Joorabchian said his agent is now a wanted man at Camp Nou. If the claim is true, it will be a significant turnaround for the Spaniards as Coutinho struggled to shine with the side during his season after switching from Liverpool in January 2018. The star was said to have been marked for offloading this summer but recent events appeared to have prompted Barcelona to change course.
The arrival of Ronaldo Koeman as Barca's new coach seemed to be the deciding factor, and according to Joorabchian, the new boss wants Coutinho back "so badly."
"Koeman called him right after the Champions League victory with Bayern, the following day, and told him he's very much in his plans and would like him to return," Goal reported the super-agent as saying.
Joorabchian said it is his understanding that under the Koeman, Coutinho will be given a clean slate and along with the other Barcelona roster members, specifically Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, who were earlier reported to be on the way out.
The agent said Coutinho has resumed training with the Catalans at the start of September to keep fit and to sustain his momentum.
Now the possibility of Coutinho staying in Barcelona should be good news for Liverpool, the 28-year-old's former club.
The Mirror reported the winger representing the Catalan giants to upcoming matches will mean Liverpool's deal with the Spanish side will again be activated. If Coutinho will appear on Barcelona games in the upcoming season, the Premier League club is set to collect more incentives.
Barcelona still owed the Premier League champions some £4.4 million and Coutinho playing on the next term wearing the Spanish club's shirt will trigger the payment of the remaining fee. The report said 15 games will allow Liverpool to earn the money.
