Reports have come in from the Manchester Evening News earlier today, 8th January suggest that Manchester United are favourites to sign Philippe Coutinho in the ongoing transfer window. A fee excess of €100 million has been rumoured to be the price that Manchester United must pay to bring the Barcelona man to Old Trafford.
However, it would probably not be wise if Manchester United go after the former Liverpool man due to various reasons. Although the deal is highly unlikely to happen this January, Manchester United have better alternatives in the market to consider before earmarking Philippe Coutinho as their target.
Former Liverpool player factor
The manner in which Coutinho got a move to Barcelona was not appreciated by many and Manchester United must be wary of it before they start negotiations with Barcelona.
Bringing a former Liverpool man will in itself not go down well many of the fans and would intensify the rivalry between both the teams. Coutinho would be under a lot of pressure if he becomes a Manchester United player in the future.
Manchester United academy youngsters Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard have been in decent form and bringing Coutinho would reduce the game time of the talented home-grown players. A number of youngsters are waiting in the wings for their senior career and United need to go back to their earlier policy of promoting youngsters to become successful again.
A number of cheap alternatives present
Manchester United also has a number of cheaper alternatives in the market who could be signed instead of breaking the transfer fee for Philippe Coutinho. Considering Barcelona’s interest in Paul Pogba, he could as well come into the picture as part of the negotiations.
Isco and James Rodriguez would be a better option for Manchester United to consider for Philippe Coutinho’s slot.
