Midfield ace ‘seduced’ by Tottenham as Conte’s side lead Arsenal in transfer hunt
Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho is ‘seduced’ by the idea of joining Tottenham, according to a report.
Brazil international Coutinho, who has won 63 caps for his country, is preparing to leave Barcelona. The 29-year-old does not appear to be in the plans of new manager Xavi.
He is yet to complete a full 90 minutes in La Liga since the club legend came back to Catalonia. The playmaker’s longest outing came in the 1-0 defeat to Real Betis, as he managed 59 minutes before being hauled off.
Barca need to sell players this winter if they are to complete the capture of Man City forward Ferran Torres.
With €55m required to land the Spaniard, Coutinho could be one of those who is sold.
Recent reports put Arsenal in the frame to land the former Liverpool ace. But Sport Witness, citing reports coming out of Spain, state Tottenham are also in with a chance.
Coutinho is apparently ‘seduced’ by the idea of playing for Tottenham. This has put them in pole position to complete a deal. Spurs could be set for a revival over the next few seasons under Antonio Conte’s guidance.
The attacking midfielder may be able to perform alongside the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp. The duo’s defensive ability would allow him to flourish in attack, should a move take place.
The report also updates fans on Newcastle’s hunt for Coutinho. It claims he will not be moving to St James’ Park as he does not want to enter a relegation battle.
Whoever Coutinho joins, Barca will likely incur a major loss. They paid Liverpool an astonishing £142m for him back in January 2018.
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Tottenham star ‘totally involved’ now – Conte
Meanwhile, Conte has given an exciting update on Spurs winger Steven Bergwijn.
The Dutchman got his first start under the Italian during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over West Ham. He took his chance, scoring the opener before setting up Lucas Moura for the winner.
The 24-year-old could now get a consistent run of games, partly due to some of his team-mates’ Covid lay-off.
“I think these two weeks that we had many players with Covid helped me and helped Steven Bergwijn to understand very well what I want from him and what I want from the other 11 players we had in training,” Conte told reporters.
“We prepared to play the games with these players. For sure, Steven should have played against Leicester, against Brighton, the games that were postponed.
“With him and also other players, we tried to exploit the period when we were only 11 or 12 players, to improve these players.
“Now Steven is a player totally involved into what I want, into what I ask from my players. Don’t forget that I like to have a plan and I like to give options to my players.
“Every single player has to know what I want during the game offensively and defensively.”
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