Barcelona ready to tempt Chelsea by offering a steal deal for Brazilian star - Reports
Barcelona are reportedly willing to offer Chelsea the chance to sign Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian has been on the fringes of the Barcelona first team for quite some time now and the Catalan giants are now desperate to move him on.
It is being reported that they have offered Coutinho's services to Chelsea on a loan deal. Barcelona have also tried to sweeten the pot by offering to pay half of Coutinho's wages for the entire duration of the loan.
Philippe Coutinho's fall from grace
Prior to his move to Barcelona, Coutinho was a star on the red half of Merseyside. He was the talisman at Anfield and contributed 99 goals and assists in 201 games for Liverpool.
His gargantuan form saw Barcelona sign the player for a mammoth €160 million in January 2018. Many thought Coutinho would be the perfect replacement for Andres Iniesta at the Nou Camp.
Coutinho got off to a bright start at Barcelona in early 2018, but slowly faded away. Things went from bad to worse for the Brazilian as he struggled to adjust to a new role on the wings in the 2018-19 campaign. He was eventually loaned out for the entire 2019-20 season to Bayern Munich but only shone occasionally.
Coutinho, once touted as a nominee for the Ballon d'Or, is now struggling to get game time at a dysfunctional Barcelona. He missed close to the entire 2020-21 season due to injury.
Why Barcelona cannot keep Coutinho
Barcelona's biggest problem in the current situation is their failure to meet the new wage limit rules set by La Liga. Their squad is inflated thanks to multiple overpaid players, with Coutinho being one of them.
In fact this same reason was the dominating factor in Lionel Messi's inability to resign with Barcelona. Even with the Argentinian gone, Barcelona are struggling to fit in the wage cap for their entire squad. They are looking to offload the bad performers and Coutinho is one of the big names tipped to exit the Nou Camp.
Should Chelsea sign Coutinho?
Chelsea have been long-term admirers of Coutinho. The Blues spent quite a few transfer windows previously trying to sign the Brazilian. However, a deal never materialized and the club moved on.
Chelsea now have other attacking talent at their disposal and do not need another attacking midfielder in their squad. The likes of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech can all play in the number 10 role for Chelsea.
That means that even with the pot sweetened by Barcelona, Chelsea are unlikely to sign Coutinho. The Blues have a young squad at their disposal and will not want to sign a 29-year-old playmaker who looks past his prime.