Barcelona flop Philippe Coutinho has been tipped to move back to the Premier League and London club Chelsea seem to be his next destination, according to reports.
The playmaker has been really underwhelming for Bayern Munich this season which is why the Bavarians are not likely to make his loan deal permanent. And to make things worse for him, Barcelona have no use of him either.
Chelsea have been linked with Philippe Coutinho for a number of months now but former Bayern Munich striker Giovane Elber has raised a number of red flags with the Brazilian’s style of play and his attitude.
“When Philippe arrived at Bayern, everybody hoped that we would see the same Coutinho from Liverpool, where he had great games, but he came after a season at Barcelona where things weren’t good for him. I think maybe that stuck in his head,” the retired forward told Goal.
“I think he’s a person who gets shaken very easily when things aren’t going so well. He’s not a person who thinks, ‘I’m Philippe Coutinho and I’m going to fix this.’
“It’s different from one person to another but, during my time, we had some players – Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguayan, for example – who were like this.
“There are people who think ‘I’m going to nail this game’ and there are others that get shaken. I think Coutinho lacks some aggression. It’s a shame because he’s a great player.
“I don’t know whether Bayern will keep him or not. Things can change very quickly in football. I wanted to speak to him but then, the pandemic happened. Although we already have Thiago [Alcantara] helping him, I wanted to give him some advice, speak about Bayern and tell him about how we see his situation from the outside.
“When he gets the ball, everybody starts thinking something extraordinary is going to happen, but he can’t expect that he’ll do that every time he gets the ball.
“Sometimes, you have to make an easy pass, do the basics, before trying dribbles, or a nutmeg. But, in the beginning, you have to have more focus on the team, try to make fewer mistakes and gain confidence. I think he lacks confidence sometimes.”
Chelsea might be signing the wrong Coutinho?
Philippe Coutinho was on fire until the time he was playing for Liverpool in the Premier League but as soon as he moved to Spain, something in him switched off.
Maybe it was playing alongside big names such as Messi and Suarez which really dented his confidence and this is the exact same reason why Coutinho could find his old form at Chelsea.
With no disrespect to the Blues but their current side is not exactly dotted with superstars and if Coutinho was to arrive at the club, he will undoubtedly be one of the biggest names on the roster. And perhaps that is when he will start getting his confidence back since he will not be compared with his teammates, day in and day out.
It’s still unclear whether the Brazilian playmaker will get his old form back if he joins Chelsea but clearly it’s worth a shot for Frank Lampard since the former Liverpool man is just 27-years-old and still has a lot of football left in him.
