Ernesto Valverde excited by Philippe Coutinho potential at Barcelona

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde sounded pretty excited about Philippe Coutinho after the new signing made his debut against Espanyol on Thursday.

The Brazilian replaced Andres Iniesta in the second half and looked pretty good during his short time on the pitch.

Valverde spoke about Coutinho after the game and said he’s looking forward to seeing what he can do.

“We have a lot of hopes for him, in the sense that he can be very good for our style of play,” he said.

”His self-confidence, his one-on-one dribbling, his ability to escape defenders, his passing around the area and the danger he poses can all help us.

”I think he did well in this game, but let’s see what happens. This is just the beginning.”

Source | Marca

Coutinho seemed to fit in right away when he came on and could be in line for a full debut against Alaves on Sunday at Camp Nou.

Source: barcablaugranes.com