FC Barcelona: 3 possible landing spots for Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho celebrates the opening goal the Spanish league football match Club Deportivo Leganes SAD against FC Barcelona at the Estadio Municipal Butarque in Leganes on the outskirts of Madrid on September 26, 2018. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP) (Photo credit should read OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP/Getty Images) /

4 of 4

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – JUNE 14: Philippe Coutinho of Brazil takes a penalty kick to score the opening goal during the Copa America Brazil 2019 group A match between Brazil and Bolivia at Morumbi Stadium on June 14, 2019 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images) /

Manchester United

In some ways, Manchester United may be the perfect landing spot for Philippe Coutinho, because they are one of the few teams both desperate and foolish enough to pay a high price for an attacking midfielder. There’s nothing wrong with Coutinho as a player, but most smart clubs, such as Liverpool or PSG, wouldn’t want to part ways with close to nine figures in order to acquire a player who was ineffective at Barcelona and probably shouldn’t be starting for Barca.

United have made far more ill-advised deals in their recent past, and they could become an ideal landing spot (from Barcelona’s perspective) if they become more pressed to add a difference-maker. The Red Devils probably won’t be a preferred spot for Coutinho after failing to make the Champions League last season, and they surely aren’t foolish enough to overpay in wages after already making that mistake with Alexis Sanchez. Beyond that, United have to figure out a way to get the most out of talented, entrenched (salary-wise) players like Sanchez before even thinking about spending big bucks on someone like Coutinho.

The thing is, Manchester United can never be ruled out of a big move. They need to get better, and Coutinho is one of the few proven players available. His goal-scoring ability and creativity in the center of the park could help United immensely, and if they can make more upgrades on defense beyond Aaron Wan-Bissaka, they could actually be a highly competitive team again.

Next. Megan Rapinoe needs to be on the FIFA 20 cover. dark

Coutinho fills a need for United, and as nice as it would be for them to be more patient with handing out money on the transfer market, they are one of the few teams that can afford to spend. What they can’t afford is another woeful season, which makes them perhaps the most intriguing landing spot for Coutinho if the whole Neymar swap with PSG doesn’t work out. (Or if Barcelona wise up and realize it’s not a good idea to acquire Neymar in the first place.)

If United finally decide to cave into the pressure to sell their best player and only real goal-creator in Paul Pogba, then a potential Coutinho deal could become the major story of the transfer window by the time August rolls around.

Home/La Liga