According to the latest reports, Barcelona star winger Philippe Coutinho is wanted by plenty of clubs in the European continent including Premier League side Manchester United and Chelsea. The former Liverpool superstar has also been linked with potential moves to Ligue 1 side Paris Saint Germain.
Manchester United was in quite the tatters at the start of the season when Jose Mourinho was in charge of the club. The Portuguese manager instilled a very backward and defensive style of football into the club that did not go down well with the United faithful. The Red Devils supporters were not used to seeing such dire performances from their team which lacked conviction and desire to score. With no results to show for the poor performances, the writing was on the wall for the 56-year-old Mourinho and fierce rivals Liverpool hammered the final nail in the coffin for the ‘Special One’ after a 3-1 humiliation at Anfield. Mourinho was sacked just days later and United turned to a familiar face to stabilize the sinking ship at least until the end of the season.
Former Red Devil striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was hired back in December and the Norwegian exceeded all expectations when he took over the reins from Mourinho. With 14 wins in his first 19 games as United manager, Solskjaer helped United to the quarterfinals of the Champions League in dramatic fashion. The English giants overcame Paris Saint Germain and turned a 2-0 deficit to win 3-1 at the Parc Des Princes and advance to the next stage of the tournament. Solskjaer has also got United playing an attacking style of football and the red half of Manchester are now in the hunt to finish inside the top 4 this term.
Solskjaer needs reinforcements in the summer transfer window if he wants to build a solid team that can compete for silverware in the near future. The 46-year-old has revealed that he wants an attacking winger who can also add goals in the forward department. And shockingly, United are targeting Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho as a potential signing in the summer.
The 26-year-old Coutinho was one of the best players during his time at Liverpool for the Reds but has struggled to adapt to life at the Camp Nou with Barcelona ever since making the move back in January 2018 in a stunning £142m deal. With the Brazilian unable to adapt to life in Catalonia, his struggles could be cut short with a move away from Barcelona in the summer as there is no shortage of takers for the star play-maker.
Manchester United are considering a move for Coutinho because the midfielder has the experience of playing in the English league and he has proven his ability in the past. But the main issue for Coutinho joining United would be the fact that his previous connection with Liverpool could jeopardize his career after being in good books with the Anfield faithful for five years.
Paris Saint-Germain are also looking to swoop in for Coutinho and Chelsea too might be interested according to how their transfer ban goes about.
