Balague: Liverpool ace Coutinho ready for Real Madrid or Barcelona, but…

Posted Tuesday, November 08, 2016 by Tribalfootball.com

Guillem Balague believes Philippe Coutinho is now ready to play for a club such as Real Madrid or Barcelona.

The Brazilian playmaker has been on fire for Liverpool so far this season with five goals and five assists which naturally prompts suggestion that perhaps one of the big Spanish two could come in for him in the summer.

Spanish football expert Balague has previously suggested that Coutinho is not ready to make such a move but feels that his form of late indicates he could quite possibly have a role at the Santiago Bernabeu or Nou Camp provided there are a few little alterations.

"Last time I spoke about Coutinho a few months back, I thought he wasn't ready for Barcelona or Real Madrid," Balague wrote, responding to a Twitter question which was published on Sky Sports.

"I can now see that he is the most talented player at Liverpool, he's performing regularly, and is scoring. Yes, he is getting to that level where either Barca or Real can come for him.

"He needs a bit more glamour for Real Madrid to have big, big interest. For Barcelona, they need to decide what to do with Arda Turan, and then they have to decide whether a player like Coutinho fits in that team.

"The problem with Coutinho as a No 10, he hasn't got a place in a Barcelona 4-3-3. He has to play wide, or play deeper, but that isn't his role, so it's difficult to find a place for him.

"Let's see who the manager is at Barcelona next season, or if Luis Enrique continues, but certainly he would be so expensive that I couldn't see Barca coming in for him just yet.

"At the moment, neither of them are in the equation, but let's see how things progress."