Philippe Coutinho still could be one of the protagonists of this transfer window, since FC Barcelona intends to use the Brazilian to fill the vacancy in the attack left by Suárez's injury. In the idea of the Blaugrana's directors may be one of two solutions: (1) Call the midfielder to join the squad in the next hours or (2) sell him and use the money to hire a world-class striker. And everything because Bayern already confirmed that they will not spend the 120 million euros fixed by Barcelona to sell the Brazilian

Option 1 - Back to FC Barcelona

Coutinho will not be the reinforcement that Quique Setién needs to solve the problem created by Luis Suárez's long term injury - Solve the absence of a striker with a midfielder it's not the ideal scenario. If he can play on the attacking left? The answer is yes. But Barça would remain without a real offensive reference to connect with Messi and Griezmann´s creativity. With Coutinho in the attack, Barcelona loses verticality and it also means losing the identity. Another solution would be to adjust the tactical system and make Coutinho play in the center, behind Messi and Griezmann (in a role in which the Frenchman proved to be more effective in the years of Atlético) but it's difficult to see Barcelona change his ADN because of Coutinho. And, even if they did it, the squad would continue without references in the attacking wings. And that is how the arrival of a world-class player like Coutinho could end up being a big problem for Setién.

Barcelona are trying to bring Philippe Coutinho back from his Bayern loan after only half a season.



They have been told the German club won't buy him permanently at the end of the season so want him back early. [Catalunya Radio] pic.twitter.com/x403OkKQak — Transfer News (@TransfersLlVE) January 30, 2020

Option 2 - Sell Coutinho and buy a new striker

Problem: FC Barcelona has a few hours to conclude these two complex operations in this transfer window. The first step is to sell Coutinho. It is public that the Blaugrana are willing to listen to proposals, but it is also certain that they want to recover a large part of the 120 million euros spent to hire Coutinho from Liverpool. The second part of the plan is to sign a new striker. Rodrigo appears to be a priority for FC Barcelona, but the negotiations with Valencia had no success. Aubameyang is the dream of the fans, but Arsenal is turning the things difficult. Another valid option is Tadic, from Ajax, but all these hypotheses are dependent on the success of the first step of the plan.

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