Philippe Coutinho slapped with £70m price tag by Barcelona
Barcelona have slapped £70m price tag on Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho, who is a summer transfer target for Tottenham Hotspur (h/t Football.london).
Coutinho has endured a difficult spell at Barcelona since making the switch to Camp Nou from Liverpool in January 2018 for a mammoth fee of £142m. Having failed to make the desired impact at the club, the Catalans farmed the Brazilian out on loan to Bayern Munich.
The 27-year-old has fared decently during spell in Germany, scoring nine goals and assisting eight more in 32 appearances across all competitions.
Bayern Munich have the option of making Coutinho’s transfer permanent by paying a fee of £105m, However, the Bundesliga champions have decided to pass up the opportunity, leaving the Brazilian’s future in limbo (h/t Football.london).
A number of Premier League clubs have been linked with a move for Coutinho, with Tottenham Hotspur being one among them (h/t Football.london).
Having allowed Christian Eriksen to leave for Inter Milan in the January transfer window, we could use a creative midfielder in our side ahead of next season. And Coutinho, despite having failed to deliver at Barcelona, would be a good addition to our ranks.
The 27-year-old has plenty of experience in the Premier League, having made over 150 appearances in the English top flight during his time with Liverpool. The Brazilian is entering the prime years of his career and will be intent on proving the naysayers wrong after a couple of underwhelming seasons.
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There is no denying that Coutinho has the capability to be a great addition to Tottenham. But it will be interesting to see if our club is willing to match the £70m price tag, especially with the finances likely to be impacted negatively due to the coronavirus outbreak.