What’s going on with Coutinho at Barcelona?

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Could he end up staying at after all?

Philippe Coutinho’s future at Barcelona remains the subject of speculation, and there are conflicting rumors still flying about regarding whether he will stay or not.

The Brazilian is back for pre-season training and has already received the “medical green light” after his knee surgery, according to Sport. The Catalan daily also reckon he “will not have more chances at FC Barcelona” and the club’s directors “have decided he will not stay on” but the problem is where will he go?

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The report again claims interest from Marseille, but that looks difficult due to his huge salary, and also vaguely mentions “various Premier League sides who remember him well” but there’s no clear idea of who may actually be willing to take on Coutinho.

The 29-year-old is one of Barcelona’s biggest earners, with a reported gross salary of €20m, but getting him off the wage bill is not proving easy and may mean he ends up staying at the Camp Nou.

ESPN report Coutinho “could yet be handed another chance” with Antoine Griezmann, Samuel Umtiti, and Miralem Pjanic more likely to leave this summer.

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The problem seems to be that Barca realize they can’t sell Coutinho for anything like the price they need to and a loan deal may not work either. AC Milan are said to be keen but “Barca see no sense in letting him leave if they still have to cover a big chunk of his salary.”

Ronald Koeman is also apparently happy to have Coutinho stick around which means “only a considerable transfer fee or a generous loan offer” would see the Brazilian leave as things stand.

Source: barcablaugranes.com