Newcastle United have reportedly set their sights on Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho over a move next summer.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Newcastle United have started laying down big plans for next summer’s transfer window following the takeover of the club from Public Investment Fund, a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium. And one of their targets is Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho.
Coutinho joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018 in what was a dream move for the Brazilian. The 29-year-old did make a fine start to life at Camp Nou, ending the second half of the 2017/18 season strongly. However, the dream would turn into nightmare in the following campaign and he struggled to make any sort of impact.
The player did fare decently while on loan at Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 season before making his return to Barcelona, where he his struggles have once again continued, be it due to fitness woes or form. To date, Coutinho has made 96 appearances for Barcelona while chipping in with 23 goals and 14 assists along the way.
However, there is a feeling that Barcelona would be happy to offload the Brazilian playmaker at the earliest possible opportunity. And it looks like the Blaugrana are set to receive a boost on that front, with Coutinho popping up on the radar of Newcastle United.
The Magpies have been the subject of a popular yet infamous takeover over the Public Investment Fund, who are now the richest owners of a football club in the world by a fair margin. Suffice to say, there are some major investments coming as far as the first-team is concerned, with Newcastle United already proclaiming that they wish to contest for major honours in the years to come.
To that end, Newcastle have already been linked with Paris Saint-Germain duo Keylor Navas and Mauro Icardi. And Coutinho has emerged on their radar as well, with the report stressing that he has become a key target for the new owners.
The 29-year-old playmaker has previously been linked with other Premier League giants like Arsenal and Tottenham as well, although a move to Newcastle could well be attractive given their lofty aspirations. That the Tyneside giants will sign him permanently will come as a massive boost for Barcelona as well.
With that in mind, it remains to be seen if Newcastle do make their move for Coutinho, although any approach is likely to be kept aside till next summer’s transfer window. For now, the Magpies have set their sights on the Barcelona midfielder as they continue laying down the groundwork for major investments into the first-team.
