Several sources have said that Barcelona is open to the possibility of transferring Philippe Coutinho to Newcastle United, who may sign him on an initial loan basis in January.
A report in the Spanish daily SPORT claims that Barcelona is ready to move Philippe Coutinho during the January transfer window. Despite the fact that Newcastle United first approached them about a loan agreement for the Brazilian attacker, the Catalan giants are prepared to negotiate with them about a permanent transfer.
Philippe Coutinho joined Barcelona in January 2018, having previously played at Liverpool in a transfer that was a dream come true for him. However, despite a promising start to his Barcelona career, things quickly went downhill, and he was nothing short of a disaster throughout the 2018/19 campaign.
After that, in the summer of 2019, the Brazilian striker was loaned out to Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Coutinho returned to Barcelona last year after enjoying a successful season in Bavaria. However, owing to a long-term knee ailment that kept him out for most of the season, 2020/21 will go down in history as a disappointment.
Barcelona are looking to offload Coutinho in January
Even though the Catalan giants are suffering, Coutinho has failed to make an impact since returning to the club. He has struggled to establish himself in the first team since his comeback.
Barcelona is anxious to cut their losses on the 29-year-old forward, who has made 101 appearances for the club so far. With things becoming worse, the club is considering selling him. And Newcastle United are prepared to come to the aid of Barcelona and Coutinho.
Despite Coutinho’s problems at Barcelona, it is obvious that Newcastle is interested in signing him. This is due to the fact that the Brazilian playmaker would be a significant improvement over the existing offensive alternatives available at St. James’ Park, making him a viable candidate to explore.
The fact that Coutinho has previous experience in the Premier League with Liverpool may be beneficial in his quest to regain his lost form. Moreover, Newcastle has been given a significant boost in their pursuit of the Brazilian international, with Barcelona prepared to negotiate with them about a possible January transfer.
After failing in their efforts to sell Coutinho in each of the last two summer transfer windows, Barcelona is desperate to create a January departure for him, even if it means signing him on a short-term loan contract from another club. The question now is if Newcastle can obtain the services of the 29-year-old this winter, given Barcelona’s desire to offload him off their roster.
Coutinho hasn’t been able to stamp his mark in the Barcelona team
When Ronald Koeman was in charge, Countinho appeared in 11 games during the 2021-22 season. However, he did not make an appearance when Sergio Barjuan took over as manager for Tuesday’s 1-0 win against Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League.
Coutinho’s professionalism has always been admired by the Barcelona hierarchy, but the club has never been happy with his performances on the field. As a result, they loaned him to Bayern Munich for the 2019-20 season, which was one of the reasons for the move.
Unfortunately for the Catalans, Countinho went on to win the Champions League with his former team, FC Bayern Munich. In reality, he scored twice and assisted on another for Bayern Munich as they crushed the player’s parent club, Barcelona, 8-2 in the semi-final of the Champions League.
Coutinho returned to Barcelona for the 2020-21 season, however, a knee injury curtailed his participation, resulting in him making just 14 appearances in all competitions.
