Ladies and gentlemen, It looks like we have found a winner for the ‘most bizarre transfer of the January window’ award. Take it away, Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian has been a Barcelona player for exactly 12 months now, and some believe he’s had a ‘difficult first year’ at the Camp Nou, ‘underwhelming to an extent’ at the Spanish giants.
Coutinho, who joined the Catalan giants from Liverpool in a reported £105 million deal, has featured in 15 league appearances this season, bagging four goals in the process.
It has been a fairly solid start for the playmaker, but according to a bizarre rumour, he could leave in the coming weeks.
That’s right. Manchester United have ‘opened talks’ to sign the former Liverpool player in the January transfer window, according to Caught Offside via The Manchester Evening News.
The report suggests Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are all interested in his services, but United are ‘early favourites’ to sign the 26-year-old in what would be one of most surprising transfers in recent memory.
And the form of Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets means that he can’t find a place in midfield.
It hasn’t exactly been a start to shout about since his £105 million move.
And according to the Daily Mirror, Barça still have £36 million left to pay off to Liverpool from the Coutinho deal, but that is all dependent on how the Brazilian performs over the course of his career at the Camp Nou.
For example, one of the clauses in his contract requires Coutinho to make 100 appearances for the club.
Once he hits that milestone, then the La Liga champions will have to pay the Reds £17 million. .
However, the club will be able to pay that fee over the course of four installments totalling £4.4million each.
Thoughts on this rumour? Would Coutinho be a good signing for Manchester United?
sportbible.com
