It was thought that the summer soap opera that surrounded Philippe Coutinho was over with the La Liga transfer window closure. Maybe that conventional wisdom was entirely wrong. Since the windows closed, and it became official that Coutinho was staying at Liverpool, Reds Manager Jurgen Klopp publicly said that he would have no issue in selecting Coutinho.
He backed that up by naming the Brazilian to his official UEFA Champions League roster list yesterday.
However, in light of reports in Spain today, not everything has been resolved, and it’s not back to normal yet. SPORT is claiming that Coutinho is still monumentally disgusted with Liverpool, due to their failure to comply to his transfer request. Liverpool turned down three bids from Barcelona, the third of which was reportedly worth £138.
Now, the report claims, Coutinho is resorting to “taking radical measures.” The publication states:
One of them, as SPORT has learned, is non-participation in the first phase of the Champions League.
With this decision, Cou would not close the doors to play the knockout rounds, which begin to play from February, with another club. The Brazilian has not abandoned his decision to leave Liverpool, despite his failed attempt to go to Barcelona this summer. To date, he has not ruled out the possibility of trying to change the air in the winter market.
So, if this report is to be believed, then a David de Gea in 2015 type situation could eventually become a full blown Diego Costa at Chelsea. It’s already showing some similarities to Raheem Sterling during his exit.
We shall see in January where this goes from here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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