Why Liverpool keeping Philippe Coutinho could be bad news for rivals Manchester United
Our friends at Football Whispers say Barcelona might be tempted to put Old Trafford target Antoine Griezmann top of their January wishlist
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BARCELONA went big for Philippe Coutinho this summer and despite the Brazilian privately pleading with Liverpool to let him go, he will remain at Merseyside at least until January.
The Catalan side made numerous bids for the playmaker, ranging between £109million to £138million – perhaps even higher depending on who you believe.
Here our friends at Football Whispers explain why Liverpool’s resistant stance on Coutinho could be bad news for Manchester United as the Spanish side look to move on from the former Inter Milan youngster.
In order to force Jürgen Klopp’s hand, Coutinho even handed in a transfer request, pleading with the Reds to agree a deal, but the English side refused to budge, which is admirable in this volatile transfer market.
Barcelona didn’t sit still, managing to complete the £97million deal for Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele.
The French winger becomes the third player this window to cost more than Paul Pogba’s former world transfer record fee of €96million from last summer and Coutinho could have been the fourth, but the Blaugrana will have to wait until at least January before rekindling their interest.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the La Liga giants have already moved on, making a shortlist of alternate players who they would push for instead of the Liverpool man.
Arsenal transfer target Thomas Lemar is one, Juventus star Paulo Dybala another and long-time rumoured Manchester United target Antoine Griezmann.
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The French forward was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford at the start of the window, but that was put on hold once Atletico Madrid were banned from registering players for the new season.
If sold, Diego Simeone’s team wouldn’t have been able to replace the 26-year-old. In order to protect the capital club a clause was written into his deal which would see him cost any potential suitors €200million before the close of the summer window.
Once Atleti can buy again in January, Griezmann’s release clause will move back down to the original €100million.
When you look at the deals for Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Dembele, plus what Liverpool rejected for Coutinho, a move for the French striker is a much more sensible decision.
It was always believed that Griezmann, a self-confessed Manchester United fan, would eventually make his move to England and play with Pogba, his best friend.
With the arrival of Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s new contract, José Mourinho may not want to push for a new forward in January.
For Barcelona, it depends on whether or not they want to strengthen again this winter.
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Coutinho was never going to be a direct replacement for Neymar, that job falls with Dembele. The Frenchman can play on either wing and is positionally a better fit to emulate the new Paris Saint-Germain star.
Liverpool’s No.10 was being earmarked to take over from Andres Iniesta with the little Spaniard now 33 years old.
Klopp had moved Coutinho into more of a No.8 role at the end of last season and it is likely that will continue once he returns to the Liverpool team this season.
Griezmann is a centre-forward and in no way could play that role.
Liverpool target Lemar is a possibility, the Monaco midfielder plays on the left, but loves to come inside to play through the middle.
But Barcelona do have to look to the future, with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both the wrong side of 30. It is unlikely they will both be able to handle playing 50/60 games every campaign.
And with the Argentine superstar still having not signed his new deal, the powers that be at the club want a big name in to try and keep him happy.
Picking up Griezmann for €100million would allow the Catalan club to sign a long-term replacement in the attacking positions, potentially giving them their starting striker for at least the next six years.
Manchester United will still hold out hope that they could land the Frenchman, but when Barcelona come calling, as Coutinho showed, it’s hard to resist.
Even with a move for the Atletico Madrid forward, Barça would still need someone in that midfield role.
Perhaps there is a scenario, in order to push them back on top of the elite standings, that Ernesto Valverde’s side could feature both Griezmann and Coutinho before the start of next season.
That would be bad news for both Liverpool and Manchester United fans.
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