Leicester want Coutinho

Leicester City have expressed an interest in signing Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona when the next transfer window opens, according to Spanish journalist Guillem Balague.

Despite the long-drawn saga which preceded it, the attacking midfielder’s €160 million transfer from Liverpool to Barcelona turned out to have been a hugely underwhelming one for the Catalan club. He failed to make any kind of impact at Camp Nou, and after 18 months he was shipped out on a season-long loan to Bayern Munich. There he was supposed to replace James Rodriguez who went back to Real Madrid after two years, but his contribution hasn’t been significant enough for the Bavarians to make the deal permanent.

There is obviously no place for him at Barcelona either, and the La Liga champions are trying to offload him with as  little pain as possible.

Leicester are currently being managed by Brendan Rodgers, who worked with the Brazilian at Liverpool and appears keen on a reunion at the King Power Stadium now. However, Balague says Coutinho’s representatives are still trying to attract the attentions of bigger Premier League clubs – without success so far.