Everton have been linked with a shock move for former Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho after the appointment of Rafa Benitez.
Bentitez’s arrival at Goodison Park was confirmed earlier this week and the move was a controversial one for the Spaniard having become a hero previously at Liverpool.
The former Real Madrid and Valencia boss won the Champions League during his time with the Reds and he now crossed the divide to take charge of Everton following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti to Real Madrid.
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And just days into the job, reports are already claiming Benitez has asked for the signing of a former Liverpool player in Coutinho, who has had a torrid time at Barcelona since his more than £100million move in 2018.
The Brazilian has won the Champions League, but that was during a loan spell with Bayern Munich, and his 64 league appearances for Barcelona have been significantly less eye-catching.
Barcelona could opt to move Coutinho on this summer amid grave financial issues, but the midfielder is coming off the back of a serious knee injury.
Nevertheless, Everton have been credited with an interest from Fichajes, who report Benitez has asked his new club to sign the 29-year-old on loan.
Though, it’s thought Everton could only pull off a deal if Barcelona pay most of the player’s wages, and given the Catalan club are around 40% over their La Liga wage cap, it’s not likely they will offload one of their biggest earners without offloading his wages.