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Philippe Coutinho’s entourage hoping for concrete offer from Arsenal

The entourage of Philippe Coutinho are hoping for a concrete offer from Arsenal for the Barcelona playmaker, Spanish publication Sport claims.

The Brazilian is widely expected to leave the Blaugrana in the coming days as they must reduce their wage bill in order to register Ferran Torres.

Aston Villa have already made an approach to sign him on loan. They could pay half of his wages, but must also agree an obligation to buy him.

They will need to convince Coutinho to accept a significant pay-cut on his £367,000-a-week salary. Amidst this, his entourage are awaiting more offers.

The Gunners are reportedly one of Coutinho’s admirers. The player’s agency are hopeful that the club will make a concrete bid for the 29-year-old.

While the Villans have an ambitious project, Coutinho is also eager to win trophies.

Our view:

Coutinho had a stellar five-year spell with Liverpool in the Premier League, bagging 47 goals and 31 assists from 152 games.

He left the Reds for Barcelona in January 2018, but has since struggled to replicate the same level of performances.

On either side of a loan spell at Bayern Munich, he has made just 92 appearances in La Liga, registering 21 goals and 11 assists.

The Brazilian is now keen on a return to English football. There are no surprises that he is being linked with Arsenal once again.

It has been a regular occurrence over the past 18 months, and it is unclear whether there is any genuine interest as things stand.

Coutinho can play anywhere in attack behind the striker, but he may not fit into Mikel Arteta’s plans with the recent upturn in form.

Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have excelled out wide while Martin Odegaard has been a revelation from the number 10 role.

Odegaard’s superb form has kept Emile Smith Rowe on the bench despite the fact that he has three goals in his last four league games.

Any move for Coutinho would have a direct impact on Odegaard and Smith Rowe in particular. We don’t see the club making an approach.

Furthermore, the London giants have had a bad experience with his agent Kia Joorabchian, who was recently bad mouthing after Willian’s exit.

Back in August, the 50-year-old said that recent Arsenal signings have been a disaster, and this will have spoiled his close working relationship.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

Read: Arsenal striker will leave on loan next week, club will pay full wages.

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