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Barcelona offloading on-loan star for £100m would open the gates to strengthen other areas

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Why Barcelona must offload Philippe Coutinho sooner than later

According to Daily Mirror, Bayern Munich stars have urged the club chiefs to permanently sign on-loan Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho.

Coutinho was in full flow in their latest 6-1 thrashing of Werder Bremen, where he put up a terrific individual display, scoring twice and assisting once, thus receiving accolades from his teammates.

Coutinho is currently on a season-long loan with the Bavarian giants following his 18-month spell at Barcelona. The win against Bremen was a welcome change for Bayern, who had lost to second-placed Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend.

Philippe Coutinho playing for Bayern Munich against Werder Bremen.
Philippe Coutinho playing for Bayern Munich against Werder Bremen. (Getty Images)

His magnificent display against Bremen led to fellow teammates David Alaba and Robert Lewandowski showering praises upon the 27-year old, thus requesting their club hierarchy to make his deal a permanent one, the report added.

However, Coutinho has a buyout clause in his loan deal, which means Bayern would have to spend around £100million to make his deal permanent in the summer.

Coutinho, who seemed to have got his career back on track at the Allianz Arena, had a rather drab period in Barcelona after they had signed him from Liverpool in January 2018.

He played a total of 76 matches for the La Liga title-holders but struggled to establish a name for himself during his time at Camp Nou. He made 34 league appearances last season but managed just 5 goals and 2 assists – a figure too small for a big-money signing like him.  

Coutinho dribbles past Werder Bremen's Nuri Sahin.
Coutinho dribbles past Werder Bremen’s Nuri Sahin. (Getty Images)

This raised a few eyebrows regarding the player’s intent and he was soon offloaded to Germany to prove his mettle once again.

Moreover, the signing of young midfielder Frenkie de Jong from Ajax last summer further confirmed that Coutinho had clearly fallen out of favour with boss Ernesto Valverde.

However, since moving to Germany, Coutinho has already impressed for the Die Roten, scoring a total of 6 goals and assisting 5 times from 13 appearances – already more than what he achieved in a single season at Camp Nou.

Barcelona, on the other hand, are having a good season, with the club currently leading the La Liga.

Coutinho playing for Barcelona.
Coutinho playing for Barcelona. (Getty Images)

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With manager Valverde preferring De Jong and Arthur, chances seem to be increasingly few for Coutinho if the club prefers to bring him back at the end of his loan spell.

Also, with as many as four other central midfielders in the squad apart from De Jong and Arthur, Coutinho’s chances are close to nil.

Verdict

With Valverde already having a squad filled so many midfield options, bringing back Coutinho would only be surplus to Barcelona’s requirements. Hence, offloading the Brazilian playmaker would be a wise decision as they could use invest that money in the market to bolster their squad.