Where would Philippe Coutinho fit in at Everton?

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

Philippe Coutinho could be set for a return to Merseyside after reports emerged that Everton have contacted Barcelona about a potential move for the Brazilian this summer.

Coutinho starred in the Premier League previously before earning a record move to Barcelona, with the Blaugrana shelling out a massive initial fee of £105 million to land the Liverpool star, with add-ons to take the outlay to an eye-watering £142m.

READ MORE: How €160m Barcelona flop Coutinho won Liverpool the Champions League

His move to Barcelona has been a disaster, however, as constant injury issues, a lack of form, and an inability to integrate into the Barca system has left him on the periphery of things at Camp Nou.

Even though the Catalan side paid such an exorbitant fee for his services a few years ago, they would be willing to let Coutinho leave for a significantly reduced price to get him off the wage bill as well as raising some funds which they desperately need at the moment following years of scattergun spending.

Now, the Sun reports that a deal has already been agreed between Everton and Barcelona for a £35m transfer this summer.

If that transfer were to happen, how could Everton line up with Coutinho in their ranks?

Everton XI with Coutinho

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti is building a fairly impressive attacking unit and it would appear he is keen to sign Coutinho to form a South American treble act in the final third with Richarlison and James Rodriguez.

At the moment, it seems that the most likely player to drop out of the team to accommodate Coutinho would be one of the club captains, Gylfi Sigurdsson.

There will of course be plenty of room for rotation, so expect the likes of Sigurdsson and Tom Davies to be given their fair share of playing time, too.

Interestingly, the reports about Coutinho have came after a half-season of speculation surrounding a potential Everton swoop for Real Madrid attacking midfielder Isco.

However, if Coutinho does arrive in the summer then any deal for the Spaniard seems unlikely.