Barcelona have had a terrible week. Unceremoniously dumped out of the Champions League after an incredible win for Liverpool at Anfield, the Catalan club will feel that this season has been a failure, despite winning La Liga and reaching the final of the Copa del Rey.
One man who has come under scathing criticism for the Catalan giant’s form is record club signing Philippe Coutinho, who is set to leave the club in the summer, as per Express Sport. Manchester United and Chelsea have been linked with a move for the Brazilian, whose form in La Liga has been abysmal, registering just 5 goals and 2 assists in the season.
Reports in Spain have indicated that the midfielder’s wages at €13.5 million could be a problem, and the Catalan club would rather get him off the wage bill and invest in adding new players to the team. When asked about reports linking Coutinho with United, Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had this to say: “He’s a Barcelona player”. The Red Devils manager’s manner of denial perhaps indicates that the club are interested in signing him in the summer.
Manchester United need a complete overhaul of their squad, which could begin with a new midfield. Ander Herrera is set to leave the club, while Paul Pogba has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, while the likes of Fred, Andreas Pereira, and Nemanja Matic have either not been consistent or are no longer influential from midfield.
Coutinho was one of the best players in the world in his position when he was at Liverpool, as he was one of the most influential players in the team. But his form has dropped significantly at Barcelona after a good start to his career in Spain. The Brazilian is the kind of player that Manchester United will need to build a team around and take them further up the table.
He has the vision, guile, and goal-scoring ability that any top team would want in their midfield, but we have to take into account his poor form for Barcelona this year. He has only scored 11 times for Barcelona this year (3 of which were in the Copa del Rey) while assisting 5 times, and numbers like that will only cause fans and pundits to label him as another flop buy by Manchester United.
Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer need to decide on the kind of football they want to play next season as well as the formation that they will employ, and buy players accordingly.
But if Coutinho can replicate the form that he showed in the last two Liverpool years at Manchester United, he will have improved the Red Devils considerably.
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