Chelsea will look to make a move for Philippe Coutinho in the summer of they miss out on Jadon Sancho – as per reports.
Jadon Sancho has been on the transfer radar of Chelsea for a couple of months now but as things stand the youngster is more likely to join Manchester United at the end of the season rather than Chelsea.
But instead of waiting for this to happen, the Blues have already identified Philippe Coutinho as the next best option should Sancho snub them.
Philippe Coutinho is currently out on loan to Bayern Munich from Barcelona but the German are not planning to sign him permanently meaning the Brazilian will return back to the La Liga in the summer.
Barca though have no intentions of keeping hold of the player and there’s a huge buzz that Philippe Coutinho will be moving back to the Premier League at the end of the season.
Ever since his move to Spain, the stacking midfielder has been a major flop but when was in England, the Brazilian was without a doubt one of the best players in Europe.
And Chelsea will be hoping that Philippe Coutinho can hit that same vein of form if they manage to sign him during the summer.
Some reports claim that the Blues are not too eager to sign the attacking midfielder permanently since Barcelona will not let him move out for a cheap transfer fee which is why Lampard wants to sign him on a loan deal with a possible buying clause.
While Chelsea will love to get their hands on Jadon Sancho but right now the Dortmund man looks all set to join Manchester United in the summer.
During the 2019-20 season, Coutinho has scored eight goals and made six assists in 22 Bundesliga games for Bayern Munich which clearly indicates that he will not be the perfect replacement for Jadon Sancho.
But if the London outfit can get him on a loan deal then without a doubt the 27-year-old will be a great asset to have.
Update: Chelsea open talks with Philippe Coutinho
It seems like Chelsea have already given up hopes on signing Sancho which is why the latest reports claim that the club have opened talks with the agent of Coutinho over a possible move in the summer.
Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian has a good relationship with the Chelsea management which is why the Blues are confident that they can get their hands on the Brazilian.
But the reports are also claiming that this will not be a loan deal since Barcelona are willing to let Coutinho leave for a fee of just €60 million which is something Chelsea will not hesitate to pay.
UPDATE(10th April 2020):
According to the latest report, Chelsea and Barcelona have moved onto advanced talks for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho and there’s a possibility the Blues can land Coutinho for just £55 million.
The contract at first will be a loan deal with an option to buy at the end of it but Chelsea are likely to pay the player’s salary in full as part of the deal.
Initially, Barcelona had been demanding somewhere in the region of £80 million but if Chelsea can actually secure a permanent deal for 55 then it will be a massive steal given that the Brazilian is still just 27 years old.
The report though makes it clear the deal is not yet final but right now things are looking really bright for Chelsea as they seem to be the frontrunners in signing Philippe Coutinho before the next season starts.
And as far as we are concerned, Barcelona are the team who are on the back foot in this deal since no team in their sane mind would want to pay such a massive price for a player who has been underperforming for the past two seasons.
So right now, the only thing they can do is let Coutinho head out on yet another loan deal and hope he comes out good on the other side.
