Craig burley has warned Chelsea about signing Philippe Coutinho during the summer transfer window.
With the coronavirus hitting the world hard, reports in the media have claimed that Barcelona are keen to sell a number of first-team players in order to balance the books and freshen up the squad ahead of next season, with coutinho no longer needed.
But burley does not think coutinho would fit the style of football boss frank lampard has adopted since becoming head coach last year, and the espn fc pundit also does not think we will have the finances for coutinho and says they must prioritise signing a striker instead.
“he’s clearly not a direct replacement because [willian and pedro] are pretty much wide guys, coutinho being a playmaker,” burley said on espn. “you’ve got mason mount who was given that role quite a lot this season, a player that frank lampard trusts, a young man that was given his head.
“I do think that the likelihood is the two senior players probably will go and also coutinho needs to find a home for the next three or four years but I’m not quite sure he fits into that mould. “lampard likes his playmakers to be hardworking as well, closing people down and playing the pressing game. “he’s not quite in that mould and he’s had a tough time.
“the money’s going to be big as well and don’t forget there’s going to be a budget cut for lampard like every other manager in the premier league. “abramovich has shown less of an appetite to spend huge money these days and their most important position out there is not a play-maker, it’s a centre-forward.
“and we know, when you’re after a top-notch centre-forward to get you over the line, that’s big bucks. “it’s big bucks in terms of transfer fee and it’s big bucks in terms of wages.
“so even if he did want Philippe Coutinho to come in because he’s a very good player, I think finances might dictate it.”