Barcelona Transfer Rumors: Will Barcelona Target Philippe Coutinho?
The La Liga title race is as tight as ever. Barcelona can still win if they beat Eibar on Sunday, but they will have to hope Real Madrid lose to Malaga as well. Even the most ardent Barça supporters have to admit that their chances of winning are slim right now.
The club will have to shake things up if they want to stay competitive with their fierce rivals. The good news is one of their primary transfer targets may be joining them soon.
Everybody knows that Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho has been linked to Barcelona in the past few seasons, but they may finally make a move to get him this time.
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According to Spanish publication Don Balón, Barcelona are offering midfielder Rafinha to Liverpool as part of a player-plus-cash swap for Coutinho. Of course, it should be noted that Don Balón hasn't always been a reliable source, so readers are advised to take this with a grain of salt.
Well, Coutinho has been on Barcelona's radar for so long already that a lot of fans believe that it's a foregone conclusion that he will eventually join the club. His name has continued to come up in transfer rumors, but Sky Sports analyst Guillem Balague doesn't think this makes sense for the Catalan giants.
"There are different reasons why Barca will not go for him. One is the cost and the other is they think he's a forward rather than a midfielder. And of course they are completely sorted in attack. They are looking for a different type of midfielder. Nobody doubts Coutinho's quality but Barcelona don't have the money to be getting three or four top players for their first-choice line-up," Balague said in his report.
Well said. But don't expect the Coutinho-to-Barcelona rumors to disappear anytime soon.
Coutinho has been one of Liverpool's best players since he joined them in 2013. He has fit in quite nicely with the club and they are still fighting for a Champions League spot heading into the final week of the season. But Arsenal are closing behind in fifth place.
