Revealed: The four Premier League clubs that want Coutinho transfer

Martin Macdonald

1 Apr 2022 11:56 BST
6 min read

Philippe Coutinho will likely leave Barcelona on a permanent basis this summer after failing to impress at Camp Nou.

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The Brazilian remains one of the most expensive players in the history of football, having joined Barca from Liverpool for €140 million.

Coutinho looked out-of-sorts whenever in a Barcelona shirt and even spent a season away at Bayern Munich, where he would actually win the Champions League.

In the January transfer window, he completed a surprise loan move to Aston Villa to link up with former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard, who replaced Dean Smith as Villa boss earlier in the campaign.

Barca are desperate to get rid of Coutinho permanently, and there are four major suitors from the Premier League, according to Spanish outlet Sport.

Aston Villa

The most logical move for Coutinho would be to make his loan deal to Aston Villa permanent, and Gerrard has indicated that this is the desire of the club.

"All good teams have game-changers who the opposition are really concerned about before a ball is kicked," Gerrard said.

"Phil has that status and he is giving belief to his team-mates.

"Our strikers Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings want him alongside them because he delivers on the big stage. I don't control transfer fees or wages.

"All I can do is give my opinion to [sporting director] Johan Lange, [chief executive] Christian Purslow and the owners. They are watching the games and they will make the final decision. Phil has shown what he is capable of so far."

Villa have the option to make the deal permanent by paying €39m.

Arsenal

This would present the most attractive option for Coutinho as it seems more than likely that Arsenal will finish in the top four this season and finish in the Champions League qualification spots.

For that reason, Coutinho will probably wait until the end of the season to decide on his next club should the four teams on this list make a bid to Barcelona.

However, Mikel Arteta is building a talented side and one of the strengths is the attacking midfield roles, with Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka already competing for the three spots.

It will be up to Arsenal whether they want a player on massive wages who might not be an automatic starter.

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Newcastle

Newcastle will avoid relegation this season after their January spending spree, bringing in players with Premier League know-how, and Bruno Guimaraes, to help them avoid the drop.

With Saudi money behind them, Newcastle can now compete financially with any club in the world.

The new owners are still waiting for that superstar acquisition to take the club to the next level and be the face of the Newcastle revolution.

That could be Coutinho, but he rejected a move there in January.

Everton

The least likely option for Coutinho is to feature for Liverpool's Merseyside rivals, Everton.

Rafa Benitez found out the hard way that both sets of fans don't take too kindly to this kind of situation, so Coutinho would be a brave man to make this move.

Furthermore, Everton are at an extremely low ebb under Frank Lampard and even if they survive relegation, the Brazilian might not want involved.