Everton have ‘made approach’ for Philippe Coutinho
Everton have ‘made an approach’ for Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho ahead of a January transfer, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Brazilian playmaker joined Barcelona in a stunning £142m move from Merseyside rivals Liverpool back in 2018 but it hasn’t worked out for him in the slightest.
After failing to break into the team he went out on loan at Bayern Munich, but has since returned and is out of Xavi’s plans in the first team.
With Barcelona desperate for cash, Mundo Deportivo are reporting that Coutinho is one of the obvious deals to leave being that he is the highest earner since the departures of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.
They claim that Everton have made an approach to his environment in recent days, and the player is in need of a ‘competitive rhythm’ to ‘regain feelings’.
Playmaker
Coutinho is obviously a very talented player, but whether he is what this Rafa Benitez team need isn’t really clear.
Benitez was quick to outcast James Rodriguez in the summer, with the Columbian playmaker not fitting into his plans and being allowed to leave for Al-Rayyan after the transfer window shut.
Coutinho has had great success in the Premier League before with Liverpool, but at Goodison Park, he’d be joining a team that is struggling with form and looking to be in a more defensive setup.
He’s also barely played regularly over the last three years so him coming in and making an instant impact is highly unlikely too.
Everton fans have already been made to accept one former Liverpool man in a position of power at the club, adding another one as their star player is unlikely to go down well so if they’re smart they’ll probably leave this deal alone.
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