“I don’t think Tottenham would be interested” – Liverpool legend plays down transfer talk

Liverpool legend John Barnes has claimed that Philippe Coutinho would not be a good fit for the way Jose Mourinho wants to play and insisted that he cannot see Tottenham signing the midfielder this summer.

Reports have indicated that Coutinho is of interest to Spurs ahead of the new campaign (Daily Mail).

However, it has been suggested that the Brazilian star’s bumper wages and the high transfer fee demanded by Barcelona could put the Lilywhites off from signing him.

The former Liverpool man has also been linked with moves to London rivals Arsenal (Express) but Sport claimed recently that he has not yet decided which club he wants to join this summer.

Barnes believes a move to the Emirates or Stamford Bridge is more likely for Coutinho as unlike Mourinho, both Mikel Arteta and Frank Lampard want their sides to dominate the ball.

When asked about the speculation surrounding the 28-year-old’s future, Barnes told BonusCodeBets (as relayed by The Express): “It is an exciting watch with what is going to happen with Philippe Coutinho this summer. There are many teams that will want to sign him.

“I don’t think Tottenham would be interested. I don’t know if the way that Jose Mourinho likes to play will suit him.

“He [Coutinho] likes the ball and having a lot of possession, whereas Mourinho doesn’t necessarily play that way.

“Arsenal could be the best club with the style of football they play.

“Chelsea could be another good match, because of the way Frank Lampard sets up his team, so with that in mind, Arsenal or Chelsea would be the best solution for him.

“I don’t think he will go to Manchester City, to be honest. Pep Guardiola would be able to get the best out of him but there are often times that he has been in a successful team already, and he hasn’t been able to show off as much as he would like.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I agree with Barnes that Coutinho does not fit the mould of a typical Mourinho number ten. Having said that, the Portuguese coach has proven that he is pretty adaptable over the course of his career. Mesut Ozil certainly flourished under him at Real Madrid and so there is no reason to believe he cannot design a system to accommodate Coutinho.

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