OPINION
Danny Mills has suggested that Tottenham can sign Phillipe Coutinho to replace the ‘replaceable’ Christian Eriksen should he leave in the summer and that definitely isn’t the case.
There has been constant rumours surrounding the Danish playmaker with AS reporting that Eriksen had verbally agreed to join Real Madrid.
Speaking in an interview with Football Insider, Mills said: “He’s not irreplaceable, There are good players out there who could replace him – Coutinho is one, Spurs can get him perhaps – but it’s going to cost you an awful lot of money.”
This couldn’t be further from the truth with Spurs’ transfer policy not being one that allows the cheque book to be opened frequently, especially to the extent of how much Coutinho would cost.
Spurs were one of the few Premier League clubs to have a positive expenditure this season after not signing even one player, with Mauricio Pochettino being made to bring success to the club with no financial backing.
The Brazilian joined Barcelona from Liverpool for £142million plus add-ons in 2018 (Source: BBC Sport) and hasn’t flourished since joining with memories of his expertise in the Premier League fading quickly and turning into him being a flop in his first full season in Spain.
Coutinho has only been involved in 11 goals this season in his 52 appearances in Spain and for the amount of money that would be needed to secure his services, Tottenham will certainly not be looking to bring him in come the transfer window.
With Eriksen being estimated at upwards of £129million, should Mauricio Pochettino allow one of his prized possessions to leave, Phillipe Coutinho should definitely not be on the list to replace him.
If the 27-year-old Eriksen leaves then Spurs need to get the right replacement for him and that simply isn’t Coutinho, so Mills is barking up the wrong tree on this occasion.