There is no excusing this, Chelsea must question Barcelona’s simply ridiculous valuation of Philippe Coutinho…
Some things are inevitable in life; death, taxes and Premier League clubs being forced to pay an extortionate price for overseas players. Chelsea is certainly no exception to this, as they have found out in their pursuit of Philippe Coutinho.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona has named their asking price for Coutinho. It’s thought the Catalan club will not accept any offer of fewer than 100m euros. Even given the price Barca paid for him, this is simply inexcusable and Chelsea must move on.
Coutinho’s Barcelona contract does not expire until 2023, so they have no reason to sell him at a cut-price deal, right? Wrong. Given all that’s going on in the world right now, it’s naive to expect clubs to pay such a huge fee for players, even of Coutinho’s level.
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Perhaps this could show, though, that Barcelona do value Coutinho after all. Perhaps Quique Setien has an inclination that the Brazil international could suit his side well, so they want some leverage in the potential to keep him.
As far as Chelsea is concerned though, they must consider if paying this fee is the right thing to do now. With that money, they could improve massively in other areas. Given this is Lampard’s first summer transfer window where he can actually spend, he must have plenty planned from what he has learned about his side already.
For 100m Euros, plenty of talent could be bought. I mean, you could sign both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Timo Werner for that price, if that’s what Chelsea have in mind. Either way, there will be options.
Coutinho is certainly who the fans want, but if it comes at the expense of losing out on other transfer targets, they will understand any decision made from the Chelsea board. After all, they are in the best position to judge financial decisions.
Do you think Barcelona should sell Philippe Coutinho this summer?