Barcelona have made a statement by acquiring Ferran Torres from Manchester City. However, the club has yet to register the forward in La Liga, and in order to do that the Catalans may have to get rid of some expensive contracts.
Philippe Coutinho, who became Barca’s record signing for €160m in January 2018, has never lived up to the expectations around him and the club has been trying to find him a new destinationfor a long time.
According to ESPN, the former Liverpool star could finally leave Camp Nou this month as a number of Premier League teams have shown interest in Coutinho. And one English club could be ahead of the rest in the runfor the midfielder.
Report: Premier League clubs show interest in Barcelona’s Coutinho
Coutinho has struggled to seize on the opportunities he was given in Barcelona. Four years after his arrival at Camp Nou, he never looked like the player who shone in England. Even after a poor start to life under Ernesto Valverde, Ronald Koemangave him another chance, but his time at Barca could be up with Xavi at the helm.
The report from ESPN claims that teams in the Premier League are already inquiring about the possibility of landing Coutinho on loan. Aston Villaare reportedly one of those clubs, which could see a reunion of Coutinho with former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard, who took over at Villa Park this season. Spanish journalist Helena Condis Edo of COPE has also claimedthat The Villans are negotiating with Barcelona for a six-month loan of Coutinho.
Meanwhile, ESPN addsthat Everton are among the teams who are keeping tabs on the 29-year-old, but that there’s an ‘internal discussion’ between club owner Farhad Moshiri, who is keen on landing Coutinho, and The Toffees’ manager Rafael Benitez, who is reluctant to the idea of bringing him in.
However, the report notes that all talks are at ‘an early stage‘ and no clubs are ruled out yet. Where will Coutinho continue his career remains to be seen, but it looks like it could be away from Barcelona. The club intends to offload his expensive wage, while he’d like tofindmore playing time as the 2022 Qatar World Cup draws nearer.