Barcelona believe they have identified a path in an effort to offload Philippe Coutinho.
Ernesto Valverde has made it known to the Barcelona board that one of his objectives this upcoming season is to have a thinner squad. In part, because he hopes to give more of an opportunity to some of the young players but also the club have too many players in certain positions.
Aside from midfield, the club are bloated in the attack. Some of that was alieved with the recent sale of Malcom to Zenit Saint Petersburg but a log jam still exists. With one Brazilian gone, Barcelona are now working in the process of trying to sell another Brazilian in the form of Philippe Coutinho. But his sale is proving to be more complicated than that of Malcom simply because of the money involved. However, the club believe they have a plan to facilitate his departure.
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Citing Catalunya Radio, Mundo Deportivo report that Barcelona’s plan for Coutinho is to let him leave on a loan but also charge a loan fee between €25-30 million. Sport also report that the club has an offer on the table though they did not disclose the interested party. They state that the Catalans preferred choice is for a permanent move and at the same time recuperate a significant percentage of what they spent on him.
Barcelona signed Coutinho in the winter of 2018 from Liverpool for transfer fee of £106 million but potentially worth up to £142 million if certain variables were met. His first half-season with the club looked promising as he showed some flashes of his Liverpool self. His first full season was nothing short of a disappointment with Coutinho becoming nearly invisible in Barcelona’s important games. Despite playing both in the attack and midfield, he never flourished in either role.
For his part, Coutinho is also interested in a move away as he knows he had a poor season and knows that he might see even less playing time with the arrival of Antoine Griezmann. His only preference with regards to a move is to remain in Europe. The Premier League is a possible destination especially if a club is willing to take him on loan for a season and then sign him the next, similar to what PSG did with Kylian Mbappe.
When he was signed, Coutinho became the team’s most expensive signing. A season and a half removed, neither side imagined things would turn out this way. It looks like his time at the Camp Nou are close to coming to an end.