Philippe Coutinho (R) in action against Schalke in the Bundesliga (Getty Images)
According to the Daily Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur have joined the race to secure the signature of Barcelona outcast Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian, who completed a dream £142million move in January 2018 to Barcelona from Liverpool has seen himself fall out of favour at the Catalonia club after failing to live up to the expected standards.
This has led to the attacking midfielder being deported to Bundesliga outfit Bayern Munich on loan in the following summer. However, Coutinho failed to impress in Germany too, forcing the club to state their unwillingness in buying him permanently.
This has offered Premier League clubs like Chelsea, Leicester and now Spurs a chance to land the playmaker. However, there is a problem at stake. Barcelona are willing to let Coutinho go on loan, given the fact that whichever club buys him will have an obligation to seal a permanent deal at the end of it.
Given his inconsistent form in recent times, many clubs are unsure about pursuing their interest further. This is a window of opportunity for Jose Mourinho’s Spurs if they are ready to include such a clause in his loan deal.
Meanwhile, Mourinho is well aware that he needs reinforcements in the middle if his club, who are 8th in the table now, have to improve next season. Tottenham recently lost creative midfielder and playmaker Christian Eriksen to Inter Milan in January.
The club just have Englishman Dele Alli in that role. Though Alli has been impressive of late, scoring the major share of his 8 league goals after Mourinho’s arrival, he has a habit of being inconsistent.
This could turn out to be costly for both the club and Mourinho as it will play a huge role in their attempts to climb the table next season. It would also ease the burden on their injured and talismanic striker Harry Kane, who over the years has been their saviour in front of goal.
The English striker looked in good form this season too, scoring 11 goals before he got injured in January. Thus, roping in a creative player such as Coutinho seems like a good option. Moreover, he is no stranger to the English conditions, having excelled there in his five-year stint with Liverpool. It would be better to say that he played the best football of his career in English soil.
Despite not winning any trophies with the Merseyside, Coutinho found great individual success with the Reds, playing a whopping 201 matches for them across all competitions. He scored 54 goals and gave 45 assists in the process, giving a fair idea of his goal-scoring prowess too. This made the La Liga giants Barcelona claim him for a massive fee.
However, the presence of seasoned stalwarts such as Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets stunted his growth after the midfielder fell down the ranks under then-boss Ernesto Valverde.
With Spurs now hot on his trail, Coutinho once again has a chance to revive his career in the league that he once excelled. This, in turn, could be handy for Tottenham if they can make the best out of him.
Being unwanted by both his parent and loan club might be frustrating for the player, who was one of the brightest talents in Europe sometime back. He would now be itching for a move elsewhere to prove a point. Hence, Tottenham must make the best out of this situation and land him sooner than later.
