West Ham have been offered the chance to sign Barcelona ace Philippe Coutinho this summer according to a report from The Sunday Mirror (print edition August 15th, page 74).
Read also: West Ham eyeing £14m striker who had 29 G/A last season – ExWHUemployee
The Brazilian’s agent Kia Joorabchian has spoke to the Hammers about sending his client to the London Stadium. The West Ham fans will be very familiar with that name…
He was the man who facilitated the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano at West Ham way back in 2006.
Tevez helped keep the Hammers up and is a cult hero to supporters. West Ham were deemed to have broken third party ownership rules, however, and Sheffield United were awarded £20 million in compensation as they were relegated.
West Ham would then have to pay 60 per cent of his £7.7 million per year wages.
That works out at roughly £88k-a-week – more than doable for the Hammers.
The question is, would David Moyes really want a 29-year-old who has experienced terrible problems with injuries and poor form over the past year or so? The answer is probably no.
West Ham offered Philippe Coutinho
The 29-year-old South American has really struggled since joining Barcelona from Liverpool for around £142 million in January 2018 (BBC).
Barca are in desperate financial turmoil, so they are clearly keen to get rid of some of the enormous wages on their books.
Coutinho, who won the Champions League during a loan spell with Bayern Munich two seasons ago, was a fine player in his day.
Whether he has the hunger and energy that Moyes demands, however, is highly debatable.
The last thing we need to do is bring another ageing star who’s past his best to the London Stadium on extortionate wages.
In other news…Report claims West Ham have just lodged official £17m bid for 25-year-old
Young and hungry players are on the menu for David Moyes. And bearing that in mind, we would be hugely surprised if Coutinho rocks up at the London Stadium this summer.
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