Any hopes which Tottenham Hotspur may have had over trying to lure Philippe Coutinho to North London ahead of the transfer window have taken a significant blow.
The Brazilian was linked with a loan move to Tottenham last summer (BBC) but instead ended up joining German giants Bayern Munich for the 2019/20 campaign.
Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian revealed earlier this summer that the 28-year-old could return to the Premier League while claiming there had been interest from English top flight clubs (talkSPORT).
While it appeared that Coutinho’s time at the Catalan giants looked to be numbered (Daily Mail), a change of manager appears to have given the former Liverpool man a fresh opportunity at the Nou Camp.
Ronald Koeman was appointed as the new manager of Barcelona last month following their humiliating Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich.
Joorabchian has admitted that Koeman has already told Coutinho that he will be part of his plans for the season ahead.
When asked if Coutinho will remain with Barcelona, Joorabchian told talkSPORT‘s Jim White: “Yeah.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“Koeman called him right after the Champions League victory with Bayern, the following day, and told him he’s very much in his plans and would like him to return.
“He was due to return on September 7 but actually he returned at the beginning of September because he didn’t want to lose his momentum and fitness, and he’s been training with Barcelona.
“All signs point to the fact Barcelona have changed quite dramatically, the way their philosophy of how they wanted to move forward from last year and the players they’ve brought in, like Coutinho, Dembele and Griezmann they’re all going to be part of the squad this year.”
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
