Philippe Coutinho to get one final chance at Barcelona

Despite their efforts, Philippe Coutinho is set to get one final opportunity to prove himself at Barcelona.

The plan all summer long was for the Catalans to find a suitor to take the Brazilian off their hands. Now the club has resigned themselves to the fact they are stuck with him.

Barcelona resign themselves at keeping Philippe Coutinho

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According to Mundo Deportivo, his high wages and the fact he played very little last season due to injury, means he did not get a chance to showcase his talents which in turn lowered the possibility other clubs would be interested in him.

Therefore, unless something drastically changes before the close of the transfer window, he is going to stay at Barcelona.

Faced with this reality, the club is now considering giving Lionel Messi’s No. 10 to the Brazilian. In a move that is likely to bewilder supporters, the rationale behind it is no one else is ready, or wants that responsibility.

With Coutinho, at least it’s on a player whose expectations are not high and with his contract ending in 2023, won’t be around for much longer.

Barcelona believe that Coutinho will be a more useful player than last year. [cadena ser] pic.twitter.com/9NWtEC2Zon
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 18, 2021

In his Twitch stream, Gerard Pique said they wanted Sergio Agüero would take the number but he was not convinced he should do so.

The hope for Barça is Coutinho can take that next step with the absence of Messi. It has long been said one of the reasons he has yet to show what he showed at Liverpool was because he liked to play in similar areas on the pitch as the Argentinian.

Messi is gone so it is time for the most expensive signing in club history to prove his worth. Manager Ronald Koeman believes in the player and has trust in him. A trust the Brazilian must now reward.