Philippe Coutinho has one chance left to impress Bayern Munich

If Philippe Coutinho wants to extend his stay at Bayern Munich he’ll need to impress the German giants in their upcoming Champions League matches. 

Philippe Coutinho is already being linked with a number of clubs in the summer transfer window. The Brazilian attacker might still have one more shot to extend his stay with Bayern Munich. A sensational run in the club’s upcoming Champions League matches might be enough to convince the German giants to keep him for another season.

Admittedly, that’s an unlikely outcome for Coutinho and his current club. Nonetheless, the news that Bayern expect him to feature in their upcoming Champions League fixtures does prove the club haven’t given up on the player altogether.

It’s fair to wonder just how good Coutinho would need to be over the next several weeks to extend his stay in Munich. His loan move to Bayern from Barcelona has largely been a complete disaster to date. Coutinho has battled injuries and poor bouts of form during his time in the Bundesliga. Almost nothing about his play for Bayern to date would suggest he deserves another season with the club.

On the other hand, it wasn’t so long ago that Coutinho was regarded as one of the brightest young attacking talents in the world. His form for Liverpool was outstanding before he earned a big-money move to Barcelona. Unfortunately for Coutinho, he got lost in the shuffle of the La Liga club’s star-studded attack as soon as he set foot on Spanish soil.

Even so, Bayern are under no obligation to give Coutinho any more playing time this season. The fact that the club are actively working to extend his loan through the completion of the Champions League in August shows they have a glimmer of hope regarding his future. At the very least, they acknowledge the reality that he can be a helpful substitute in their future Champions League matches.

Coutinho’s priority for the rest of the current campaign should be showing interested clubs in him that he is fit enough to take a gamble on for next season. Plenty of clubs are willing to bet on a player of his talent. Not many clubs are willing to spend sizable transfer fees on players who might spend long periods of the season in the recovery room.

Coutinho’s future won’t be defined entirely in the next few weeks, but it could go a long way towards giving him a future away from both Bayern and Barcelona. Some solid Champions League play could be just what he needs to get his career back on track.