Journalist Duncan Castles has revealed his belief that speculation linking Philippe Coutinho with Chelsea has been manufactured by the player’s agent, as the Express report.
Coutinho is undoubtedly a brilliant player. While he has struggled to impress at Barcelona, his two goals for Brazil the other night showed that the fire still burns within.
His unsuccessful start to life at the Nou Camp has (inevitably) prompted speculation that he could be set for a premature exit, with the Metro throwing our name into the mix.
While Chelsea do have the financial power to sign a player of Coutinho’s calibre, with cash raised through Eden Hazard’s sale, we remain unable to sign players this summer.
Not only that, but Castles believes that neither Chelsea nor Coutinho are seriously interested in making the move happen. He’s quoted by the Express claiming that it’s all agent talk:
“The idea that Abramovich spends that amount of money on one player, in terms of salary and transfer fee, at a time when he’s trying to sell the club, strikes me as a little strange.”
“So I expect that briefing comes more from the desire of the agents to bring Chelsea into the equation than it does of an actual defined and fixed preference on Coutinho’s part.”
Coutinho would not be the like-for-like replacement for Hazard that the club would presumably be after for that sort of money, so this theory certainly ought to be entertained.
What do you think, Blues?
