Barcelona made another bid for Liverpool’s Phillippe Coutinho and it was turned down. Will they keep pursuing him or search for an alternative elsewhere?
Liverpool rejected Barcelona’s second bid for their Brazilian playmaker Phillipe Coutinho on Wednesday, according to a report from Sky Sports on Twitter.
Sky Sports noted that the bid is rumored to be in the region of £76m with the possibility of £13m in add-ons. So what does this mean for the Catalan club? Will they try one more time to secure the Brazilian’s services or will they search for an alternative?
Considering the crazy money that PSG just paid Barcelona for Coutinho’s international compatriot, Neymar, Liverpool believes they can get more out of the Blaugrana. Barcelona have probably bid a little low when modern transfer fees are taken into consideration – although this is almost certainly deliberately low.
Liverpool’s restraint is refreshing too. They applied the same approach with Luis Suarez a few years ago and ended up receiving a huge fee for him. The Reds will only want to part with Coutinho if they really have to.
If Barcelona do manage to sign the Brazilian, many expect him to fill the gap Neymar has left open on the left-wing, which he would have no problem doing. However, I expect him to have a more influential role in the midfield as a playmaker. Coutinho can drive games forward and also has an eye for goal that Barcelona have lacked in the past couple of seasons.
Andres Iniesta is not able to play 90 minutes every match anymore and Coutinho certainly has the ability to play a similar role to the Spanish midfielder.
Follow FanSided Soccer on Twitter to keep up with all transfer news.