Chelsea are right now the favourites to sign Philippe Coutinho from FC Barcelona but according to Stan Collymore, Frank Lampard could be making a big mistake if he brings the playmaker on board.
Collymore clearly feels, Frank Lampard is walking on the wrong path since unlike Eden Hazard, Coutinho is not a match-winner who can single-handedly change the fate of a match. “If Frank Lampard signs Philippe Coutinho it could well be his first mistake as Chelsea manager,” he said in his column for the Mirror.
“The Brazilian would help an Everton, a West Ham or possibly Wolves – tier-two Premier League clubs whose usual aim is to finish between sixth and eighth. He’d put bums on seats and sell the notion to supporters that their club is working hard to break into the Champions League.
“But he is not going to help a team that is already there get any better, because he is one of the most overrated attacking midfielders in the game.
“Lampard has managed everything spot-on in his first season at Stamford Bridge, the way they play, the way they want to promote youth. In everything he has done and said, he has put Chelsea forward as a team that won’t just be successful on his watch but under future managers as well.
“They will go on and play the kind of football the owner wants and win trophies, but Coutinho is not going to be the man who enables them to do that.
“He is not Eden Hazard. He hasn’t got that little bit of spite needed to be a match-winner in the big games and, as a result, he is not going to win Chelsea or anyone else the biggest pots and pans.”