Philippe Coutinho is a shock target for Everton and Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals could bid for the Brazilian this summer, according to reports.
The 28-year-old was a popular figure at Anfield, playing over 200 matches for the Reds before joining Barcelona in a £105million transfer at the start of 2018.
Coutinho has struggled to make a similar impact at the Camp Nou and the Brazilian’s long-term knee injury sustained earlier this season could signal the end of his time in Spain.
And according to TZ, as cited by Marca, Everton are planning a £35million bid to test Barcelona’s resolve regarding the Brazilian midfielder’s availability this summer.
The Catalans are undergoing financial worries with reports in February of this year claiming their debt is reaching around £1billion. Several players could therefore be sold this summer in order to balance the books at the Camp Nou.
In his first 18 months at Barcelona, Coutinho scored 21 goals in his first 76 appearances for the Catalans but fell out of favour with former boss Ernesto Valverde and was loaned out to Bayern Munich at the start of the 2019-20 season.
The midfielder scored 11 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions for the treble-winning Bayern Munich side last season but returned to Barcelona after the German giants refused to make the loan deal permanent this season.
Coutinho then suffered a horrendous knee injury in December, which appears to have ruled him out for the rest of this season after the Brazilian returned to his home country at the end of March for a second operation.
Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that European football next season will help to convince Coutinho that Goodison Park is the right career move for him.
The Toffees added another former Bayern Munich loanee – James Rodriguez – to their squad at the start of the season. The Colombian has six goals and nine assists so far in his debut season on Merseyside.
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