Out-of-favour Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho is reportedly open to moving to Brazil during the January transfer window to revive his career.
According to a report from UOL, Philippe Coutinho is ready to leave Barcelona and move to Brazil in the upcoming January transfer window as he looks to get his career back on track.
Coutinho joined Barcelona in January 2018, arriving from Liverpool in a club-record deal worth £142 million. Nearly four years after his move to Camp Nou, it would be safe to say that the Brazilian playmaker has been a major flop at Camp Nou. Apart from a bright spell in his first six months at the club, the 29-year-old has massively struggled to make a mark.
A loan spell at Bayern Munich during the 2019/20 campaign seemed to have somewhat revived his career. But, it proved to be a false dawn as he again struggled upon returning at Camp Nou before an injury late last year sidelined him for the rest of the season. Back in action in the current campaign, Coutinho has failed to muster up any meaningful contributions, and Barcelona are ready to cut their losses on him.
There have been speculations about a return to the Premier League, with Arsenal believed to be working on a deal to sign the 29-year-old. At the same time, his former club, Inter Milan, have also been linked with a January swoop for Coutinho. But there is no certainty that either move will go through, as a result of which he is keeping his options.
Indeed, as per the report, Coutinho is now considering returning to his homeland, Brazil, during the winter transfer window, as he hopes to rekindle his career and stake a claim for a berth in the national team squad for the FIFA World Cup 2022, which takes place in Qatar late next year.
To that end, several clubs in Brazil like Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras have been made aware of his desires ahead of the January transfer window, even though he would prefer to stay put in Europe.
Coutinho has a contract with Barcelona that runs until the summer of 2023. Even if clubs from Brazil show an interest in signing him, on loan or permanently, the ex-Liverpool star will have to considerably reduce his wage demands if he is to get a move away from Camp Nou in the upcoming transfer window.
