Leicester City are among the clubs to have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona this summer.
According to a report by Leicester Mercury, Kia Joorabchian has spoken with three Premier League clubs including Leicester City over a possible late move for Philippe Coutinho before the summer transfer window slams shut. This transfer will be a potential loan deal wherein the clubs will not be obliged to pay his entire wages.
Philippe Coutinho completed a dream move when he joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018. However, after a solid start to his stint at Camp Nou, the dream quickly turned into a nightmare, as after a disastrous 2018/19 campaign, he was sent out on loan to Barcelona ahead of the 2019/20 season.
While Coutinho did fare decently at the Allianz Arena, including scoring against Barcelona themselves in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Bayern chose not to sign him permanently. Back at Barcelona last summer, Ronald Koeman gave him another chance to prove himself, only for the player to be sidelined with a long-term knee injury.
Coutinho has since recovered from the said issue, but things have reached a head at Barcelona, who are eager to cut their losses on him. As a result, the 29-year-old is available for another loan move this summer, with Leicester City in contention to secure his services.
Coutinho could well be a solid fit at Leicester amid James Maddison’s links with Arsenal over a late move. Even if Maddison ends up staying put at the King Power Stadium, Leicester would still need someone like the Barcelona midfielder amid widespread speculation pointing towards Dennis Praet’s desire to leave the Foxes.
Coutinho, to that end, is a viable target for Leicester, who have been approached by his agent, Kia Joorabchian. The super agent has also spoken to West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers while Tottenham have also been linked with him lately.
As for the framework of the transfer, the loan club will not have to pay Coutinho’s entire wages, with Barcelona prepared to fund up to 40 percent of his salary. Barcelona, though, want an answer from the clubs involved in talks with Joorabchian in the coming days and with that in mind, it now remains to be seen is Leicester make their move for Coutinho or look at any other targets instead.
