Arsenal likely to beat Tottenham for Philippe Coutinho
According to a report from the Independent, Tottenham are likely to be beaten by arch rivals Arsenal in the race to sign Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho.
The 28-year-old Brazilian joined Barcelona in January 2018 from Premier League champions Liverpool. However, his dream move to Camp Nou has been a disaster. Having failed to make any sort of impact in his first 18 months at the club, the playmaker was loaned out to Bayern Munich last summer.
Coutinho has fared decently in Bavaria, playing a handy role in Bayern’s Bundesliga triumph. However, Die Roten have no intention of making his transfer permanent. And Barcelona, too, have no plans of keeping him at the club for next season.
This has led to speculations surrounding his future, with Tottenham, Arsenal and Leicester City reported to be vying for his signature. However, as per the aforementioned report, Arsenal seem to have the upper hand over us in the race to land the Brazilian international.
This stems from the fact that Barcelona are interested in Matteo Guendouzi, who is set to be sold this summer. The report states that sending the Frenchman to Camp Nou, plus a £9m fee, should help the Gunners land Coutinho on a permanent transfer in the summer.
Coutinho, despite his struggles at Barcelona, is a proven commodity in the Premier League. The Brazilian had done brilliantly during his time at Liverpool. And, he has shown signs of rediscovering his best form at Bayern Munich.
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So signing him would have served us well, given the over-reliance on Giovani Lo Celso to provide the creativity. But it seems like our rivals have their noses in front to land the Brazilian.
