Premier League giants Chelsea will have to fork out £87 million in order to attain the services of Barcelona superstar Philippe Coutinho this summer.
According to Mundo Deportivo, as relayed by The Sun, Barcelona have slapped a staggering £87 million asking price for Philippe Coutinho. The playmaker, who is currently on loan at Bayern Munich, has been linked with a permanent move away from Camp Nou in the summer, with Chelsea reportedly interested.
It is no secret that Barcelona are keen on offloading Coutinho, following his struggles to adapt to life in Spain. And despite his additional failures in the Bundesliga, the Brazilian has been linked with a host of clubs across Europe this year.
However, Barcelona’s ambitious £87 million asking fee is sort of over the top even though it is very understandable given the fact that the Catalans are keen on re-signing Neymar. Coutinho’s sale in that regard should provide them with a massive financial boost.
Even for Chelsea, who are in desperate need of attacking reinforcements in the summer, the playmaker’s staggering price-tag would likely be enough to put them off. And for good reasons, with the ex-Liverpool barely making any impact during his short ongoing spell in Germany.
The Brazilian has shown glimpses of his brilliance during his time at Bayern. And even though the fact that he has been involved in 14 league goals might seem rather appealing, Coutinho has largely struggled to even become a regular first-team member of the club.
In fact, he has often been overlooked in favour of players like Leon Goretzka and Thomas Muller this season. As a result, Coutinho’s overall game-time has been minimised to just under 1,400 minutes of league football. Hence, there is no wonder why Chelsea are reportedly ready to look elsewhere in the shape of Kai Havertz.
As for Barcelona, they might be in huge trouble if they fail to offload Coutinho in the summer. Although the 27-year-old is yet to play under Quique Setien, he has clearly failed to revolve his game around Lionel Messi. And he is likely to struggle even more following the arrival of Antoine Griezmann.
Therefore, the Spanish giants should look to reduce their asking price for Coutinho if they are to anticipate a potential sale. The Brazilian has no shortage of options, however, so it will be interesting to see how this transfer saga takes shape this summer.
