Arsenal could renew their interest in Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho with Barcelona reducing their loan demands, according to reports in the Telegraph.
The 27-year-old made his move from Liverpool to the Catalan giants in January of 2018 in one of the most expensive transfers of all time. But since then, he has not been able to find a stable place in the Barca first team.
The midfielder then joined Bayern Munich on a loan deal where he has done reasonably well with 8 goals from 22 league games. The German club had an option to make the loan deal permanent but they did not pick up that option.
The report in the Telegraph claims that Barcelona were initially asking for £10million loan fee and the player’s £250,000-per-week to be paid in full by potential suitors which led to clubs cooling off their interest.
It further claims that with finances going for a toss due to the pandemic Barcelona chiefs are willing to lower their demands in order to get a new loan move for Coutinho. The Spanish club are now willing to pay a part of the Brazilian’s wages to make a move more appealing. Though the report did not specify how much, it is thought that this would reignite the interest of many clubs including Arsenal.
Coutinho spent around five seasons in England where he emerged as one of the best-attacking players in the league. He is capable of scoring from anywhere and can create an opportunity from nowhere. Having a player of his quality will certainly make their attack more potent and dangerous.
Another advantage of having Coutinho is that he can play in a variety of positions which will give Arteta many options and with him already being familiar with the league, he will not need any time to adapt.
The midfielder can hit the ground running immediately which will definitely appeal to the North Londoners.
Despite not impressing at Barcelona, Coutinho remains a fantastic talent and at the age of 28, he still has a lot to offer.
