In the latest transfer news Man United have been linked with a move for Thiago Almada, while Philippe Coutinho is keen to head to the Premier League and Arsenal is a possible destination.
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Starting with Man United, it appears they are planning for alternatives when it comes to signing winger Jadon Sancho.
According to the Manchester Evening News, young Argentine winger Thiago Almada is a target for Man United, so too are David Brooks and Rabi Matondo as they may not splash over $130 million to sign Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
There is no doubting Sancho’s ability but given the financial situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, even a club in a healthy financial state like Man United will have to cut their cloth accordingly. This is where Argentina youth national team star Almada comes in.
Almada, 19, has become a star for Velez Sarsfield in Argentine and Man United are one of many European clubs waiting to make their move. Per the report, Almada is a back-up option for Man United and right wing is a position they want to strengthen in.
Given Daniel James’ up an down first season at Man United, this position is the only one of their attacking slots which needs attention. Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes clearly have the other slots locked down but more competition and quality out on the right will be key for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Now, James may develop and his pace is a huge asset and he’s still very young. That said. Almada would slot in to Solskjaer’s philosophy of buying young, hungry players to add to his squad.
Switching to London, where Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea have all been linked with a move for former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian playmaker has been on loan at Bayern Munich from Barcelona this season and it is safe to say he will not be staying at Bayern on a permanent basis. Where next?
Coutinho’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, told talkSPORT that his client is keen on heading back to the Premier League.
“We’re still waiting until the season finishes before we start talking about anything in terms of transfers,” Joorabchian said. “I’ve always said he loved to play in the Premier League, he enjoyed his time at Liverpool very much. If the opportunity arises to come back to the Premier League, whether it be this year or in the future, he’s definitely looking at that.”
There you have it. If that’s not a ‘come and get me plea’ to Premier League clubs, I don’t know what it is.
A return to Liverpool seems unlikely, while it also seems unlikely that he will head back to Barcelona permanently. Chelsea and Arsenal would seem like a good fit, and although Tottenham have plenty of fine attacking talents, would Coutinho start ahead of Dele Alli, Son or Lucas Moura? Chelsea have a lot of young attackers in his position but with the futures of Willian and Pedro seemingly elsewhere, there could be a spot in Frank Lampard’s attack for Coutinho.
Arsenal seems like the best fit here. Mikel Arteta is building a new team and needs quality and experience to add to his young but talented players. What a loan move to Arsenal for Coutinho would mean for Mesut Ozil remains to be seen but having Coutinho, Ozil, Nicolas Pepe and maybe Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette around would be an absolutely bonkers attacking lineup. That said, the latter two seem likely to leave and that could actually pave the way, financially, for Coutinho to arrive on loan.
There’s a very, very good chance that Coutinho returns to the Premier League in the next six months.