Chelsea are right now the favourites to sign Philippe Coutinho from FC Barcelona but according to Stan Collymore, Frank Lampard could be making a big mistake if he brings the playmaker on board.
Collymore clearly feels, Frank Lampard is walking on the wrong path since unlike Eden Hazard, Coutinho is not a match-winner who can single-handedly change the fate of a match.
“If Frank Lampard signs Philippe Coutinho it could well be his first mistake as Chelsea manager,” he said in his column for the Mirror.
“The Brazilian would help an Everton, a West Ham or possibly Wolves – tier-two Premier League clubs whose usual aim is to finish between sixth and eighth. He’d put bums on seats and sell the notion to supporters that their club is working hard to break into the Champions League.
“But he is not going to help a team that is already there get any better, because he is one of the most overrated attacking midfielders in the game.
“Lampard has managed everything spot-on in his first season at Stamford Bridge, the way they play, the way they want to promote youth. In everything he has done and said, he has put Chelsea forward as a team that won’t just be successful on his watch but under future managers as well.
“They will go on and play the kind of football the owner wants and win trophies, but Coutinho is not going to be the man who enables them to do that.
“He is not Eden Hazard. He hasn’t got that little bit of spite needed to be a match-winner in the big games and, as a result, he is not going to win Chelsea or anyone else the biggest pots and pans.”
Can Frank Lampard revive Coutinho’s career next season?
Coutinho has been really poor ever since he moved out of Liverpool in January of 2018 and this season he’s failed to revive his career with Bayern Munich as well.
Bayern do have an option to buy him permanently in the summer but the Bavarians are not too keen to trigger this clause as they consider spending so much money on him a bit of a waste.
So yes, there’s no doubt Frank Lampard is taking a massive gamble in trying to bring the Brazilian onboard.
But the Premier League is like a second home to Coutinho and his best playing time has been in England with Liverpool. The playmaker is very much accustomed with the style and pace of play in the PL so there’s a massive chance he can revive his career next season at the Bridge as compared to remaining at Barcelona.
Frank Lampard will know very well the risk he’s taking but this season the manager has worked with Pulisic and helped the American settle down in the Premier League and we believe he can do the same with Coutinho as well.
