Guillem Balague has been speaking on his YouTube show #AskGuillem, and he has revealed that the favourites to sign Philippe Coutinho in the upcoming transfer window are Newcastle United.
Balague spoke about the Toon’s proposed takeover and the interest in Coutinho from the Premier League and other things.
Here is what he had to say about the future of Coutinho in full:
“Now there’s been talks about Arsenal, nothing has arrived from Arsenal, and there’s been talks about Liverpool going back on loan – no truth whatsoever.
“The favourites, if you have to choose from the Premier League, are Newcastle if the bid comes in and if they eventually make an offer for him of some kind that Barcelona is happy with.
“They want to get rid of Coutinho, that’s for certain.”
Balague, therefore, seems to believe that if the former Liverpool man, who is valued at £50.4m by Transfermarkt, is to return to the Premier League, then Newcastle are the favourites.
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Of course, this would depend on the Toon’s takeover, gaining the Premier League’s approval, but Balague believes the PL will pass the deal.
In his time with the Reds Coutinho scored 41 goals and provided 37 assists in the Premier League, so he has proved his worth in the top-flight.
Now there are a lot of factors that this deal depends on, but if the takeover is approved, then Coutinho seems like he could be keen on a move to St. James’ Park, and the Toon should have the money to bring the 28-year-old to Tyneside.
However, unfortunately, at the moment, all of this is pointless until the Premier League passes the Toon’s takeover – which is not certain because of concerns over piracy.
It will be interesting to see what they decide and then if it is approved if the Toon make a move for Coutinho.