We all know the biggest winter signing isn’t Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (oh come on, you loyal Liverpool fans). That title actually belongs to Philippe Coutinho, whom we all remember once as that talent from Espanyol.
Unfortunately, Coutinho, who joined Barcelona for £145million from Liverpool last week, is currently out of action for three weeks with a thigh injury. Desperate to make his debut for Barcelona, he spent most of this week focused on his recovery from injury at Nou Camp’s sports centre. Obviously, no club wants to sign an injured player – especially one that costs £145million, so Phil had better get on it!
Soccer betting sites have also predicted that he might participate in the Catalan derby against his former side, Espanyol, on February 4. As they say in football, what goes around comes around – what an interesting turn of events!
“We wanted him last summer, we have been working for weeks and months on this deal but one of the most important aspects was that he wanted to come here.
‘He was patient and that was a determining factor in bringing him here. I am delighted to announce the signing of one of the stars of world football.’ – Club president Josep Maria BartomeuÂ
Interestingly, in a new interview Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino explained why he knew Philippe Coutinho wanted to leave Liverpool.
Pochettino worked with the Brazilian for a period of time at Espanyol, and believes he knows why the 25-year-old pushed for a move to the La Liga outfit. Coutinho reportedly paid out the remaining £11.5m of his own money to seal the move to Barcelona.
