View: Coutinho must take pay-cut for Everton move to materialise
If Philippe Coutinho wants his Barcelona nightmare to come to an end by joining Everton then he’s going to have to take a pay cut, according to Sport.
The Brazilian is the highest earner at the Camp Nou following the departure of Lionel Messi in the summer, but he is not in the plans of current manager Xavi and a departure in January looks inevitable.
But if he wants to earn a move to the Premier League, where Sport believe he favours a move, then a pay cut is more than necessary to secure that.
After completing a ‘dream‘ move to Barcelona in 2018, Coutinho has struggled for game time and has completely failed to live up to his £142m price tag.
He has been out on loan at Bayern Munich, winning the Champions League while there, but he failed to light up the Allianz Arena and they didn’t turn the deal permanent.
But with links to Everton and Arsenal now heating up, it’s become clear that the 29-year-old must put football above finances to secure a move.
Gamble
For Everton, even if he did opt to take a pay cut, this is a deal that isn’t a guaranteed success.
Coutinho is no longer the electrifying player he once was, despite how ‘gifted‘ he is on the football.
He’s lost a yard of pace, is nowhere near as influential on the pitch and the world-beater aura he once had has been completely diminished.
There’s no doubt that Everton could do with his creativity in the final third, and his relationship with Richarlison is likely to be good considering their time together with the Brazil national team, but there is more to this deal than that.
The Toffees board already angered fans by bringing in ex-Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez in the summer, so by bringing in one of their previous top players to now become a key man at Goodison Park is unlikely to ease any of that tension.
After letting James Rodriguez leave in the summer unopposed, it’s highly unlikely that Benitez sees Coutinho as the missing piece of the puzzle.
If a deal is to happen though, it won’t be without Coutinho taking a significant pay cut first.
In other Everton news, Toffees make approach for South American superstar over January move.