Philippe Coutinho was supposed be like a new signing for Barcelona when he returned to Catalonia after a trophy-laden loan spell at treble-winners Bayern Munich over the summer.
But, just like in January 2019, when the Brazilian arrived from Liverpool in a club-record £142 million deal, one of the planet’s most gifted attackers is underwhelming and underperforming in that iconic red and blue shirt.
There has been the odd flash of brilliance, a tantalising glimpse of sheer, world-class potential. But, despite a respectable tally of three goals and two assists in 11 matches, Coutinho is now in grave danger of losing his place to a teenager who, just a few weeks ago, was blowing out 18 candles on his birthday cake.
If Coutinho has come to epitomise a period of unprecendented underperformance at Barca, teen sensation Pedri offers hope for a much brighter future.
At present, Pedri is comfortably outshining a man ten years his senior.
And, according to Ara, the cash-strapped Spanish giants may jump at the chance to remove a £400,000-a-week millstone from around their neck in January. Although there is an acceptance that no one is going to pay the £55 million former president Josep Maria Bartomeu wanted over the summer.
The former Liverpool talisman was linked with a shock return to Merseyside in June, albeit with Everton rather than Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League champions (Bleacher Report).
The Toffees instead snapped up another fading star from La Liga, offering James Rodriguez a fresh start at Goodison Park.
If we presume that Everton are out of the race, especially given Gylfi Sigurdsson’s recent resurgence, the same cannot be said of Arsenal (Mundo Deportivo).
Only Burnley, Sheffield United and West Brom have scored fewer goals than Mikel Arteta’s misfiring Gunners, a rudderless parody of a grand old club currently enduring their worst start to a season in 39 years.
Coutinho would not solve all Arsenal’s problems but he would, in theory, give Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and co the sort of service they have been starved off throughout 2020/21.
Of course, Coutinho would need to take a major pay cut to join Arsenal. But it is either that or spend another six months wasting away at the Camp Nou.
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