A dig into why midfield star, Philippe Coutinho has failed to impress in Spain

Brazillian midfielder Philippe Coutinho who switched to Barca from Liverpool last January for a record £105million has struggled to make his mark at Barcelona during his 16 months stint at the Nou Camp.

Since the mega move, that was against the manager’s will, the Brazil international has played 76 times for the Catalan giants, scoring 21 times and making 11 appearances.

A summer transfer could be on the cards for Coutinho, with the Champions League exit to his former club said to be the final straw with Chelsea interested, if their appeal transfer ban is lifted.

And according to a report  released by a sports paper in Spain, Mundo Deportivo, there are three reasons why Coutinho has not settled in at Barca “physical, football and soul.”

The paper explains how Coutinho has lost more physical battles in La Liga compared to his time in the Premier League with Liverpool, also citing a failure to track back having been tackled.

In terms of football, the Spanish publication claim he has failed to assimilate to the style he was originally signed for.

The star was seen as Andreas Iniesta replacement in central midfield when he arrived, having impressed in the role at Anfield, but the report says he has not passed the test.

Coutinho has also not lived up to the standards of the weight of the massive transfer fee, that he was fetched for which has forced the embattled manager, Ernesto Valverde to distrust him.

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner believes Phillipe Coutinho probably regrets deciding to leave Liverpool where he was the shining star at the time towards his departure for the Spanish giants.

“I would just point to the story of Philippe Coutinho,” Werner told the Liverpool Echo.”I have only good things to say about Philippe. But I think he left Liverpool because he wanted to play for one of the two big Spanish clubs,” he said.

“We tried to convince him that we had the club moving in the right direction and that he could experience big Champions League occasions by staying at Liverpool. I think he probably regrets his decision.”

The star faces a hard time at the moment more so after the announcement of the possible move of Athletico Madrid’s forward Antoine Griezmann to the club who has since said he would be leaving the club after the end of the season.

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