What’s next for Philippe Coutinho?

Once upon a time, Philippe Coutinho was the heartthrob of Anfield. He was known as the little magician and one of Jurgen Klopp’s most vital cogs to fulfill the dreams of becoming the best clubs in Europe. Anfield loved him and consistently, he paid back the love. He was enjoying the ultimate star status in Anfield, while in Brazil, he was dubbed as one of the factors to help Selecao win the title for the sixth time. But all of a sudden, he decided to leave Anfield for Camp Nou.

Anfield never wanted their beloved boy to leave, but Coutinho thought of achieving more and which could only be achieved by playing for Barcelona. Sadly, his speculations went wrong – that move to Barcelona in the eventful 2017-18 season did not do anything good for Coutinho, but gradually invited his decline. Whereas, Liverpool grew from strength to strength and right now, Klopp’s men are the best club in the world.

The present state of Coutinho is not satisfactory. He was loaned to Bayern Munich from Barcelona, with the thought that he might regain his lost mojo. Bayern played him in the number 10position, but apart from occasional flashes of old touches, Coutinho, so far, has cut a sorry figure.

In the scoreless battle against RB Leipzig – where time this season anyone had kept Bayern from scoring in the league, Coutinho failed to create an impact yet again whereas he was brought on to provide the spark.

Even though Coutinho says that life in Germany has been getting easier for him and he is enjoying things out there, but deep down, he knows, Bayern are not considering him for a permanent signing this summer.   He looks to be out-of-favor in Bavaria and it seems unlikely they will trigger the buy-option in his contract.

Now, if Barcelona also doesn’t want Coutinho back then what would be the fate of this Brazilian star?

Surely, his chances of returning to Anfield have died long ago even if he expresses the wish to play under Klopp. Klopp has developed a system where, right now, Coutinho does not even fit. Right up there, the trio of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino is arguably the best in the world. Coutinho does his best work high up the pitch, so where exactly would he play in this Liverpool team remains a mott question - dropping into midfield would sacrifice some defensive security and destroy the balance of a compact-unit.

 The CEO of Liverpool Peter Moore said, “If you recall, when he left two years ago, then it was a complete change of style of play and we [hardly] lost a game over the balance of the season. No disrespect to Philippe but he had a different style of play.”

Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton or Tottenham Hotspur might be the other options available for the Brazilian if he wishes to return to the Premier League. Carlo Ancelotti might be the best option to help Coutinho regain his lost mojo, but also, how much interested he would be on signing him remains a moot question.

Then there comes the french club Paris Sanit-Germain – the club with plenty of cash, but not the intent to become best in Europe – could be the destination for him. With Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in full function and others aiding from midfield, even there, Coutinho’s chances look thin. But still, PSG might be the last destination for him to regain his form – Tuchel’s 4-2-2-2 system should suit Coutinho and he would also have Neymar alongside him.  

In the end, coming back to Brazil and play for renowned clubs like Flamengo or Santos would remain the last option if none of the big clubs in Europe are interested to sign him.

Coutinho was supposed to be one of the biggest stars of this generation.

Still, there is time for the Brazilian to come back.

But his current state is really sad for the fans and followers of Selecao.   

Note: This article was posted on Cricketsoccer as CSdesk What’s next for Philippe Coutinho?

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Faisal Caesar