Ronald Koeman has confirmed Philippe Coutinho will not feature for Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, via Goal, but wants to keep the rumoured Arsenal target.
The Dutchman has told reporters that Coutinho will miss the La Liga giant’s trip to Bilbao as he needs another week of training before he is fit and ready to play. The midfielder has not featured competitively since December after requiring two operations on a knee injury.
Barcelona have spent much of the summer trying to offload Coutinho to help ease their crippling financial problems. Arsenal could come to their rescue, as Sport report Mikel Arteta’s side are interested, although they cannot afford his wage.
Arsenal have asked to sign Coutinho on loan but with Barcelona still paying a proportion of his €20m-a-year (£327k-p/w) salary. However, Koeman has now damaged Arteta’s hopes of a deal, as he wants the Brazilian to stay in Catalunya.
Koeman believes the former Liverpool playmaker can help replace the goals Barcelona lost with Lionel Messi leaving. The Argentine won the La Liga Golden Boot last season with 30 goals, accounting for 35% – the third-highest contribution in the league – of Barca’s strikes.
“Philippe is out because I think he needs one more week to train with the group before being called up,” Koeman said. “I do count on him because he is a great player, he can be important for Barca.”
The Dutch coach added: “Coutinho can play in various positions. He can play from the left-wing. We have lost goals with Messi [leaving], and we have to look for them in other players. Philippe is one of them.”
Should Arsenal mourn Koeman confirming Coutinho staying at Barcelona?
While Koeman wants Coutinho to stay, Barcelona must raise funds, so Arsenal’s hopes of a deal are not over yet. However, Arteta should tread carefully in attempting to bring the 29-year-old to the Emirates Stadium before the August 31 deadline.
Coutinho has been out injured all year and his output was underwhelming when fit last season. Over 12 La Liga outings, starting eight, he provided two goals and two assists. Of those, both assists and one goal also came in the opening three games of the campaign.
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