7 - Philippe Coutinho - V1

[JamDav1982]

This is fantasy talk. Suarez isnt worth anything in the state he's in. The guy will be 31 in a month and has a huge and lengthy contract. If we manage to even offload him for free, that would be a massive achievement.

Who do you want signed?

Assuming Barca need a more creative midfielder and a striker?

 

[Dan1983]

I agree, but seal a deal for him to come next summer in January.

So another doesn't try to hijack it later.

He'll come in the summer if he does come.

 

[SeloBarca]

Ye, IF we are able to sign him, it should be for the summer. This year we wont get anywhere anyways and he wont be able to play CL.
A predeal would be nice.

We all know what we think about dailystar, but one could wish they were right for once

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/f...utinho-Matthijs-de-Ligt-Barcelona-news-gossip

That + Arthur would be a great winter window, or atleast making predeals with them for summer.

 

[ronniecro]

next year is world cup and his price can only go up during the tournament,i doubt liverpool would agree to sell him before that if they can ask for even more..

 

[DonAK]

He'll come in the summer if he does come.

Yes. I said I think we should try to close a deal in January for him to come in July.

 

[JamDav1982]

Yes. I said I think we should try to close a deal in January for him to come in July.

Liverpool wont agree to that.

They will want him focused the whole season not looking forward to a move already agreed.

At best they may promise to sell him if a certain price is met but they wont be any official deal.

 

[Givenchy]

Griezmann in January, Coutinho in the summer

 

[Dan1983]

Yes. I said I think we should try to close a deal in January for him to come in July.

Misread it. My bad.

 

[khaled_a_d]

Liverpool wont agree to that.

They will want him focused the whole season not looking forward to a move already agreed.

At best they may promise to sell him if a certain price is met but they wont be any official deal.

Then sorting his future so that he has clear mind would be the best option, same like Naby Keita IMO.

 

[DonAK]

Then sorting his future so that he has clear mind would be the best option, same like Naby Keita IMO.

This. Don't need to make it official. Just agree a deal behind the scenes and tell Coutinho to give his absolute best the last few months to get his dream move.

Coutinho will be happy and give his best, Liverpool will have clarity and time to plan properly with a fee in mind and Barcelona won't have to worry about some other team hijacking the move or their own management and board selfdestructing.

 

[MessiCam]

He's been on fire lately. I'm not his biggest fan and I still think there are players better than him but he's performances are making him hard to ignore.

 

[te amo barca]

He's been on fire lately. I'm not his biggest fan and I still think there are players better than him but he's performances are making him hard to ignore.

Who is better though? Out of realistic targets. The only one visibly better is Verratti and he is not for sale obviously.

 

[MessiCam]

Who is better though? Out of realistic targets. The only one visibly better is Verratti and he is not for sale obviously.

That's just the thing... If we're going to sign Coutinho as a midfielder then the only other realistic option is Ozil the rest like Eriksen, Silva (too old as well) and De Bruyne are far out of reach. If we're going to sign him as a winger then there are many I'd take above him. That said, I don't consider Coutinho realistic either due to the fee.

Verratti has a different profile.

 

[te amo barca]

That's just the thing... If we're going to sign Coutinho as a midfielder then the only other realistic option is Ozil the rest like Eriksen, Silva (too old as well) and De Bruyne are far out of reach. If we're going to sign him as a winger then there are many I'd take above him. That said, I don't consider Coutinho realistic either due to the fee.

Verratti has a different profile.

Why would we sign him as a winger? His best position is in the midfield and that's where he flourishes. His versatility and ability to play on both wings as he does for Brazil playing on the right is also a huge plus. Coutinho is the best we can do in every sense for the upgrading of the midfield really. Whether it's necessary to pay 150m for him or better to splash 50m on Arthur/Torreira/Goretzka on a free is a different question though.

 

[Messi983]

That's just the thing... If we're going to sign Coutinho as a midfielder then the only other realistic option is Ozil the rest like Eriksen, Silva (too old as well) and De Bruyne are far out of reach. If we're going to sign him as a winger then there are many I'd take above him. That said, I don't consider Coutinho realistic either due to the fee.

Verratti has a different profile.

But what if we are signing Coutinho to play both as a midfielder and winger depending on the opponents and system we'll play. Valverde has shown tactical flexibility and I think he'd try out different things with Cou and other new players he'll get. Based on that it could also influence our transfer targets in the near future. If he'd play more as a midfielder then we could look for another starting quality winger (if needed), if he'd play primarily as LW in 4-2-3-1 then we can look for another midfielder (again if needed). And last but not least I think he could also fill in as AMC when Messi will be rested/unavailable whether that's in 4-2-3-1, 4-3-1-2 or another formation. Not many players can bring this kind of versatility, at least not of his quality.

That's one of the reasons why I'd like him here but I'm still not crazy about paying 150M to get him.