Over the last few years, the Premier League saw Philippe Coutinho become one of the most dangerous attacking players in the world which lead the Brazilian to become a subject of interest from many clubs around the world. He has played out of his skin for the last few years at Anfield. His electric form has helped Liverpool maintain a high quality of attacking display and it is worrying for Liverpool fans to think about the state of the team had he not been there for the Reds for the last two years.
The story of Coutinho’s rise into stardom greatly interested the Barcelona board in Catalonia when the Catalan club lost his compatriot Neymar this season to Paris Saint Germain. The French club shocked the world by paying out the Brazilian’s release clause, a whopping €222m.
After losing Neymar, Barcelona looked for replacements for the Brazilian attacker. Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele and Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho emerged as the top targets. While Dembele joined Barcelona for a record €105m initial fee, with add-ons that can possibly take it to €147m, Liverpool closed the door on Barcelona’s chase for Coutinho.
Barcelona battled on but to no avail. Coutinho was cryptic to say the least about his state of mind and never came out publicly to deny reports claiming his interest in joining Barcelona. Such a stance on the player’s part encouraged the Catalan club to keep pushing for a deal.
Reports now coming are saying that Liverpool are angling for a deal for Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic as a swap deal if Coutinho is to move the other way. The 29-year-old Croatian plays in the centre of the midfield and is now a vital cog in Barcelona’s midfield.
The midfielder provides the perfect cover in the middle of the park for his frontmen to attack while also supplying sublime balls from time to time for them to finish. He also has a rare knack for popping up on occasions to finish off moves by scoring goals from both inside and outside the box.
With Coutinho determined to stay for now but his future nothing but certain, it is never easy for a club to deal with such a situation. If Liverpool were to get in excess of £75m plus Rakitic for their Brazilian, they should take the deal keeping in mind that should Coutinho firm his stance to join Barcelona, the player will be hard to stop.
Hence it is better to cash in on the Brazilian and Rakitic in a swap deal is a good player to be bringing in if he can join the midfield ranks next to Henderson and Can with Wijnaldum pushing up and Salah and Sane up front. That would leave the Reds with Sturridge and Firmino and young Woodburn on the bench, plenty of attacking depth and stability despite losing Coutinho. All this will be there on top of the extra money they will be getting along with Rakitic should Coutinho leave for Nou Camp.
