Everton ‘seek to convince’ Philippe Coutinho to join club in January – report
Everton are one of the clubs that must ‘seek to convince’ Philippe Coutinho if they want to make a January transfer happen, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Brazilian playmaker has had a torrid time in Barcelona since joining the club in 2019 in a £142million deal from Everton’s rivals Liverpool.
He has now been told by the club that they want him to find a new club in January, with manager Xavi not relying upon his qualities for the squad he is building.
Now according to Mundo Deportivo, Everton are one of the Premier League clubs looking to take him away from the Camp Nou and while ‘nothing is advanced’, they are working to convince him to join.
The report suggests that Coutinho’s agents are ‘working discreetly’ to find a suitable club for their client after a proposal was made by Everton, and Barcelona would want all his wages covered in the instance of a loan deal being put forward.
Medicine or poison
Coutinho is undoubtedly an incredible talent but this signing could go one of two ways for Everton if it were to go through.
On one hand, he is a brilliant technician on the ball and has experience in the Premier League that would allow him to hit the ground running.
He has got game-winning ability and experience of playing at the highest level, which would only boost the mentality of a young Toffees squad.
On the other hand however, he is an ex-Liverpool fan favourite who would cost an extraordinary amount of money in wages and is a shadow of the player he used to be.
He’s barely featured regularly over the last two years and as he approaches his 30th birthday, the impact he could actually have on a struggling team is questionable.
Not to mention that Benitez was quick to show James Rodriguez the door as he didn’t need a traditional number ten, so the signing of Coutinho would be a weird one.
He brings name value for sure, but anything else is a gamble at this point.
In other Everton news, Serie A giants hoping for loan-exchange with Toffees for star-duo.