Paris Saint Germain are plotting a move for Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho.
Philippe Coutinho, who moved from Liverpool to Barcelona last January has not lived up to the expectations at Camp Nou. During the second part of last season, he was effective to Ernesto Valverde’s side by contributing much more to the final third, registering 10 goals and 6 assists.
Since Ousmane Dembele was causing some problems to the club by turning to the training sessions lately, he was not selected for the matchday squad. However, with him back in the eleven, Coutinho has been forced to warm the bench. He has also fallen down the pecking order to Arturo Vidal in the midfield department.
He has totally featured 28 times for the club and has found the back of the net on 6 occasions and has 5 assists to his name. Even though Barcelona have publicly denied that the Brazilian is not in the transfer market, there is no real conviction in justifying his 142 million price tag.
The Brazilian has been reportedly linked with a move back to the Premier League with Manchester United and Chelsea linked. But, the Spanish publication Sport understands that the French club Paris Saint-Germain have made Coutinho their transfer priority after missing out on Frenkie De Jong who will join Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
After a heavy tussle between Barcelona, Manchester City, and Hoffenheim, it was Ernesto Valverde’s side who were able to wrap up the deal and lure him to Nou Camp.
When the season ends, Coutinho would have another four year deal in his contract and a release clause of 400 million euros. Even if Barcelona are willing to listen to offers for him, there is no chance that they would sell him for the amount they invested in.
According to RMC Journalist Daniel Riolo, the reigning French Champions are ready to enter the “commercial war”with Barcelona and see Coutinho as the missing puzzle in their side.
The relationship between two clubs have not been great as Neymar moved to Paris in 2017 and Frenkie De Jong was picked up from Paris Saint-Germain’s pockets. It is unlikely to see this transfer happen between these two clubs because of the poor relationship.
