Chelsea are amongst the latest clubs to have been offered the chance to sign former Liverpool favourite Philippe Coutinho, according to sources at Sky Sports.
The Brazilian playmaker, currently on loan at Bayern Munich, was heavily linked with a move back to England last summer with Arsenal and Tottenham reportedly making approaches for him.
Coutinho moved to Barcelona from Liverpool in a £142m deal three years ago, in a move that the Brazilian had claimed was a ‘boyhood dream’.
Though things wouldn’t work out quite how club nor player would have imagined with the Catalonian giants.
After falling down the pecking order at Barcelona, Coutinho decided to test the waters over in Germany, hoping he could resurrect his career at the five-time Champions League winners.
He joined Bayern Munich on a season-long loan deal which included an option to make the move permanent. Coutinho’s move to Bayern started well and boasts a respectful record of eight goals and seven assists in just 22 games.
Hansi Flick replaced previous manager Nico Kovac in November 2019, and Coutinho once again found he was being played out of position on the right and left of the striker.
Through all the speculation surrounding Coutinho’s future over the past months, his agent, Kia Joorabchian told Sky Sports News his client would ‘love’ to come back to the Premier League. However, he then adds his concerns over the current global pandemic causing implications to any potential move for the player.
Chelsea, who had their transfer ban lifted in January, have already made significant moves to bolster their squad ahead of next campaign with the acquisition of Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech for a generous fee of £33.6m plus add-ons.
Frank Lampard will certainly be looking at adding even more depth into his attacking options, with Olivier Giroud, Pedro and Willian all out of contracts come summer.
Philippe Coutinho will now want a move to rediscover the form he once had at Liverpool, which gave him the label of ‘little magician’ by the Kop faithful.
A move back to the Premier League is becoming increasingly likely for Coutinho, with clubs having faith in him restoring his previous form in England once again.
Barcelona are reportedly ready to cut their losses on the playmaker and willing to accept a cut-price deal to get him off their books.
This would be an attractive option Premier League clubs, and Chelsea, with a transfer kitty saved up from last year, may well pounce for the Brazilian.
