The La Liga giants have refuted speculation indicating that the Brazil international playmaker could be returned to Camp Nou. Barcelona don’t have any intention of bringing Philippe Coutinho back from a loan spell at Bayern Munich, using a club spokesman branding accounts to the contrary ‘made up’.
It had been indicated that the Liga giants were preparing to cut short a season-long arrangement with fellow European heavyweights.
A move to Germany was sanctioned for Coutinho ahead of the 2019-20 effort and he was allowed to head from Camp Nou after struggling to prove his value across 18 months in Catalunya.
A big-money deal was done to prise him away from Liverpool in January 2018, but Barca saw little return on their sizeable investment.
The strategy was that a return to form could be appreciated from the Bundesliga, with the option there to get a permanent switch to be made to the Allianz Arena.
Across 24 outings in all competitions, he has registered seven goals and eight assists.
That is not a bad return, but more was due to the talented Brazil global in new surroundings.
With Bayern seemingly reluctant to consider a full-time bargain, reports claimed that Barca were ready to shoot Coutinho back and find another suitor in the January window.
The reigning Spanish champions are in the market for another striker and could generate funds by moving on to the likes of Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic.
A club spokesman has, however, refuted such claims, telling Target and SPOX:”As agreed, the player remains in Munich for at least the rest of the season. Everything else is made up.”
With Coutinho set to see out the 2019-20 campaign in Bavaria, Bayern should find a way of getting more from him.
Hansi Flick admits that continues to be a problem to this point, with both he and predecessor Niko Kovac having been unable to get the most out of the midfielder thus far.
Bayern’s interim boss has stated: “Philippe is a gifted soccer player but he still needs to interact more with his team-mates.
“I do not think we have incorporated him yet [to see his best]. The training camp was quite good for him. There are a whole lot of things planned for next week, like ball work.
“Hopefully, he will progress further again and reveal what type he has.”
