West Ham United are being offered the chance to sign Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho – but so have Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
That’s according to The Sunday Mirror (15/08, p74), who state that agent Kia Joorabchian is speaking to all three clubs in an effort to thrash out a deal.
That name is probably very familiar to West Ham fans.
Joorabchian was involved in the controversial deals taking Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham in 2006, and then claimed the economic rights of Tevez when moving him from West Ham to Manchester United and then Manchester City.
The Iranian agent isn’t exactly popular at West Ham, but still seemingly fancies taking Coutinho to East London.
Barcelona want a deal done by Friday, and any loan move would require the signing club to pay 60% of Coutinho’s £150,000-a-week wages – around £90,000-a-week.
The Brazilian only played 12 league games last season, notching two goals and two assists.
Coutinho has struggled to live up to the hype following his move from Liverpool in January 2018, and may find his way back to the Premier League this summer.
West Ham do need to find another attacking midfield player following Jesse Lingard’s return to Manchester United, so Coutinho could fill that role.
Wolves and Leicester are appealing options too, and the coming days could be vital if Coutinho is to make a return to England.
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