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5 players Barcelona should sign to replace Neymar

By David Gate

BARCELONA, SPAIN - MAY 06: Neymar of FC Barcelona celebrates after scoring his team's opening goal during of the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF at Camp Nou stadium on May 6, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - MAY 06: Neymar of FC Barcelona celebrates after scoring his team's opening goal during of the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF at Camp Nou stadium on May 6, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) /
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Coutinho Barcelona
WIGAN, ENGLAND – JULY 14: Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool during the pre-season friendly match between Wigan Athletic and Liverpool at DW Stadium on July 14, 2017 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

5 players to replace Neymar: Philippe Coutinho

Neymar is a stellar talent so it will be hard to find a player (or players) who will match the Brazilian’s level of skill and efficiency. The priority for Barcelona this season has been to improve defensively. They scored 116 league goals and didn’t win the league so they can’t afford to take step back offensively.

Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool would be able to fit in instantly. Most of his time at Liverpool has been in the forward left position, where Neymar plays for Barcelona. The rumors of Coutinho’s move to Barcelona have rumbled on for a few transfer windows. That’s the natural consequence of developing into one of the best midfielders in Europe and being a lynchpin of the Brazil team preparing for next year’s World Cup.

I am sure when Coutinho has been considering playing for Barcelona he was thinking it would be to play with Neymar rather than replace him. So does losing his friend make Barca any less appealing? Probably not. He is great friends with Luis Suarez from his time at Liverpool and by extension will have the friendship of Lionel Messi. That is an absolute must in the current Barcelona power system.

It would be a huge blow to Liverpool to lose their best player to Barcelona. Could signing Naby Keita mitigate some of that loss? Perhaps. But Liverpool fans are drawing up their dream midfields with both of those players in the picture. If Coutinho has his head turned there is little chance Liverpool could resist an offer around £100 million for the Brazilian maestro.

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