Leicester City make £20M bid for Philippe Coutinho – Barca likely to accept

Philippe Coutinho to Leicester City: Leicester City have reportedly made a bid of £20 Million for Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho to his current club FC Barcelona. Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers wants to reunite with the ex-Liverpool player. Coutinho played under him for two years between 2013-15. Brendan Rodgers tried to sign Philippe Coutinho when the player was just 14, got him at 20 and is now being linked again at 29.

Philippe Coutinho wanted by his ex-boss

Liverpool signed Philippe Coutinho from Inter at £8.5 Million in Jan 2013. That was the first season of Rodgers managing Liverpool. Coutinho helped Liverpool almost grab the title the following year. Brendan Rodgers got a great output from Coutinho when the pair were together at Merseyside. He scored 41 goals in 152 appearances for the Reds.

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The Catalan giants FC Barcelona then paid a massive fee of £142 Million for the Brazilian. That enabled Jurgen Klopp to get Van dijk, Fabinho, Allison. These players totally changed the game for Liverpool and eventually they won the Champions League in 2018-19 and the league title in 2019-20.

Why Coutinho’s move to Barcelona was a failed transfer

Philippe Coutinho did not meet the expectations with the Catalan giants who had no option but to loan him to FC Bayern Munchen in the following year. Coutinho’s stay at Camp Nou has not gone according to plans. He has won a LaLiga and a Copa del Rey since leaving Liverpool, but he has struggled to show the type of form he was well known for in the premier league. He scored 15 goals in 64 la liga appearances. A serious knee injury hampered his return to Barca in 2020/21 and he managed just 14 appearances in all competitions.

The Catalans are now keen to offload the player that they spent £142 Million on to sign back in January 2018. Barcelona are looking to sell as many as 18 first-team players in this transfer window. Barca will have to pay Liverpool a hefty fee of another £18 Million if he reaches 100 games for the club. With him currently sitting on 90, they want to sell him before he reaches a century. Philippe Coutinho has two years remaining on his contract with Barcelona.

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According to Mundo Deportivo Barcelona are keen to offload the 29-year-old playmaker from their wage bill this summer.

Leicester City place initial bid for the Brazilian

The Foxes have reportedly placed a £20M transfer bid for the ex-Liverpool midfielder. If that does not suffice FC Barcelona, they are also open to a loan deal. James Maddison and Harvey Barnes are the two attacking midfielders that Leicester City have right now but the Foxes need to add more depth to their midfield, which is the purpose that Coutinho’s addition will serve. The Foxes missed out on Champions league football yet again this season securing 5th position in the league.

Keeping in mind Liverpool’s interest in Leicester’s FA cup final hero Youri Tilemans as a potential replacement for Gini Wijnaldum, the foxes would surely like to finalise the deal with the Catalans.

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