Chelsea right now seem to be the favourites to sign Philippe Coutinho from FC Barcelona but as per Jamie Redknapp, this deal might cause a lot of problems at the Bridge.
Coutinho is right now out on loan to Bayern Munich but the Bavarians are not interested in making the deal permanent which means the playmaker will move back to Spain.
Philippe Coutinho though wants to return back to the Premier League next season and the Stamford Bridge could well be his next destination. But Redknapp believes if the Blues do manage to bring in the Brazilian then it could be the end of Mason Mount’s career at the club.
“I don’t see this as a goer, it’s an awful lot of money,” Redknapp told The Football Show on Sky Sports. “Coutinho is a super-talented player but he doesn’t get enough goals.
“Chelsea have Mason Mount there and a lot of trust has been given to the young players who are coming through at Stamford Bridge. The way Chelsea have been going for the last year or so, I just don’t see them going to spend £79m on a player.
“Coutinho is talented, but why would you want to risk preventing someone like Mount, who is going to be a top-class player, having the opportunities himself?”
Will Chelsea ditch Philippe Coutinho’s move?
Chelsea legend Alan Hudson a couple of days ago had claimed that Philippe Coutinho might be used as a wide player next season which would mean players like Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi might be in for a tough time.
“I think there’s been something wrong with him (Coutinho) since leaving Liverpool where he was sensational,” Hudson told CaughtOffside.
“The questions far outweigh the answers, and for me, his form has been in a decline similar to Alexis Sanchez after leaving Arsenal.
“Frank’s job depends on his next big signing because of him bringing through a lot of kids, and l think Frank will give him a wide berth.”
And now, Redknapp feels that young Mason Mount could be the other player affected due to the arrival of the Brazilian.
So clearly the bottom line is if Chelsea pay a lot of money for Philippe Coutinho then there’s no way Lampard will be able to keep him on the bench and this could mean that players like Hudson-Odoi and Mount will fall down the pecking order sooner or later.
And for a club which has a reputation of not handling their academy graduates too well, this could be a really pressing issue.
We do not think Lampard will pull the plug on this deal since he has not been able to sign even a single player over the past two transfer windows hence if he can manage to rope in Coutinho then it surely will calm a lot of nerves.
