On his current form Philippe Coutinho is not good enough for a move to Barcelona, according to Liverpool hero John Barnes.
The Reds’ Brazilian midfielder has emerged as a target for the Spanish giants of late after stepping into the void left by the likes of Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard to become the key man at Anfield.
That said, his form over the course of the past month or so has been below par, with his best performance in recent memory coming during the 3-2 win at home to Aston Villa.
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Coutinho has started in each of Jurgen Klopp’s three games in charge of Liverpool so far, but against Rubin Kazan he gave the ball away on more occasions (six) than any other player in a red shirt, while his performance against Southampton on Sunday was fairly ineffective.
And TitanBet brand ambassador Barnes believes that Coutinho won’t remain a Barcelona target for long unless his performances pick up:
“If Barcelona are interested in him they won’t stay interested if he keeps playing this way, so if he wants to go to Barcelona he has to start playing well.” He said.
“I don’t think the speculation has got to him because Barcelona won’t be getting him in January anyway.
“If there’s speculation about any player that should inspire him and if Barcelona are interested in you that should inspire you to do well.”
Barnes went on to claim that it’s a case of ‘class is permanent’ with Coutinho, 23, and that the pressure put on young players is too great in the modern game:
“He’s young and inexperienced.” He said. “We put too much pressure on our young players, just look at Harry Kane. Okay he scored a hat-trick at the weekend, but until then he was being questioned.
“Young players will have ups and downs, so we have to give him time to develop and we know he’s a great prospect. Sooner or later he’ll start performing because he’s a good player.”
John Barnes is Brand Ambassador for Titanbet.co.uk. Visit Titanbet.co.uk (Link below) and get £20 Free bet when you stake £10. 18+ Terms apply. Gambleaware.co.uk
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