Arsenal or Tottenham look the most likely potential transfer destinations for Barcelona misfit Philippe Coutinho this summer, journalist Kevin Palmer has told Empire of the Kop.
The Brazil international has not been at his best for some time now, having struggled both at Barca and on loan at Bayern Munich last season before returning to his parent club this summer.
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It seems unlikely Coutinho can bounce back at the Nou Camp, even if he seems to be staying put for the time being, and Palmer has tipped him for a move back to the Premier League, but not to his former club Liverpool.
Speaking to EOTK, Palmer made it clear that Coutinho would welcome the chance to return to Anfield, but the Reds are not interested in bringing him back.
“Liverpool don’t want him! Simple as that,” Palmer said. “The story we did in the Sunday World saying he wanted to come back to Liverpool got a lot of attention and it is 100 per-cent accurate.
“Coutinho would ideally like to return to Liverpool and you can see why. They have won everything since he left. Partly because they bought so well with the money they got for him.
“His agent (Kia Joorabchian) is trying to get him a move this summer and Arsenal or Tottenham look most likely. For what it’s worth, I think he would have been great at Liverpool on a one-year loan. A class act who would add to a brilliant squad.”
Arsenal and Spurs could surely do well to snap up Coutinho if the opportunity presents itself, with the 28-year-old looking world class in his previous stint in England.
Arsenal in particular may well see him as an ideal replacement for the out-of-favour Mesut Ozil, while Tottenham also need to strengthen in attack after a disappointing season last year and a poor start this term with a 1-0 home defeat to Everton.
Liverpool fans will no doubt have fond memories of Coutinho but it’s fair to say he hasn’t really been missed since he left as the club have reinvested money from his sale brilliantly to deliver both the Champions League and Premier League titles in the last two seasons.