Philippe Coutinho set for a move to Bayern Munich

According to Evening Standard, the two clubs have a deal in place for a loan move involving Coutinho, who has fallen out of favour at Barcelona.

It appears that Philippe Coutinho’s time in Spain could be over, at least for this season. The club has come to an agreement with Bayern Munich on a season-long loan with the option to buy the Brazilian after he was left out of the starting lineup and the substitutes in Barca’s 1-0 opening day loss to Athletic Bilbao on Friday.

Before their loss in the season opener, director of sporting relations and club spokesperson Guillermo Amor told Spanish outlet Movistar that ” There’s an agreement in place for a loan move regarding Coutinho to Bayern Munich.”

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The Brazilian attacker came to Camp Nou from Liverpool in January of 2018 for a whopping 142 million euros but has failed to live up to expectations. He scored just 11 times and tallied five assists in 54 competitions last year for Ernesto Valverde’s side.

Through 76 appearances since he arrived in Barcelona, Coutinho has bagged just 21 goals. He’s had a tough time locking down a starting spot with the Spanish giants, and now with the likes of Antoine Greizmann now with the club as well, he’s fallen even lower on the pecking order.

This is a wonderful move for Bayern Munich though, who suffered a 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin in their Bundesliga opener on Friday. With Ribery and Robben gone from the club and James Rodriguez, they are in need of some more exciting attackers.

Coutinho is versatile because he can play as a number 10, but also out wide if need be. Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman are currently starting on the flanks, but adding another quality midfielder like Coutinho could give the Bavarians even more depth on their attack.

The 27-year old was previously linked with a swap move to PSG involving Neymar coming back to Barcelona, but Coutinho wasn’t interested in moving to the French giants.

Despite his struggles with Barca, Coutinho has proven over the years to be a top talent with world-class skill and a special ability to score and set up goals. With Liverpool, he turned himself into a star, scoring 54 times in 152 appearances.

A change of scenery could be the best option for the Brazilian international. Staying in Barcelona is a waste of his talent at this point because he isn’t going to see the pitch very often considering the players ahead of him.

Bayern Munich has also just brought in Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisic on loan from Inter Milan, who will add even more creativity on the attack along with Coutinho, once he arrives in Germany. Bayern struggled to find the net a 2-2 draw in their first match of the new campaign, so the thought is that both Perisic and Coutinho can bring more of a scoring flair to the club.