"I count on him" - Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman hoping for club star to finally deliver
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has insisted that Philippe Coutinho could finally become an important player for the club in the new season.
The Brazilian joined Barcelona from Liverpool in the 2018 winter transfer window but has failed to recapture the form he showed for the Reds in England. He also spent a season on loan at Bayern Munich, and was part of their squad that annihilated Barcelona 8-2 in the 2020 UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
Coutinho's time at Barcelona has been affected by injuries as well. But for the new season, Koeman believes Coutinho can play an important role and is being counted upon.
“I count on him. For me, Cou [Coutinho] can be an important player for Barca. He played games at the start of last year and then got injured that lasted longer than we hoped for. And yes, I truly count on him for this season, yes,” Koeman said ahead of Barcelona's La Liga encounter against Athletic Bilbao.
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Coutinho needs another week to train with the group before getting included in matchday squads: Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman
Although Koeman is counting on Coutinho, the Brazilian isn't part of Barcelona's matchday squad for the visit to Athletic Bilbao.
The Barcelona manager revealed that Coutinho needs another week of training with the squad before he can be deemed match fit.
“Philippe is out because I think that he needs another week to train with the group, before being called up.
“He’s an important player, he’s effective in his game. He can play in various positions. We need people like him. With Messi we lost a lot of goals and we have to look for goals from the other players,” added Koeman.
Coutinho has so far made 90 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions, scoring 23 and assisting 14 goals.