French legend Emmanuel Petit has opened up and revealed that he would be happy to see Chelsea target Philippe Coutinho back in the Premier League.
There has been some big speculation in the media over the past few days which have suggested that Chelsea are closing in on a £77 million deal for the former Liverpool man, as he is not wanted back at Barcelona in the summer and will be sold on.
RECENT REPORTS HAVE SUGGESTED CHELSEA HAVE OPENED TALKS WITH COUTINHO, who has struggled to reach the kind of form which made him one of the best players in the game during his time with Liverpool, and Petit, who had similar struggles when he completed a move from Arsenal to Barca back in 2000, is confident Coutinho will be regretting his switch to the Nou Camp.
He told Paddy Power: ‘If I was Philippe Coutinho, every morning I would wake up and think to myself, “Why, why, did I sign [for Barcelona] in Spain?” ‘And do you know why I say this? Because, I can remember the time when I’d wake up, when I was at Barcelona, when I left Arsenal, and I was thinking the same way, “Why did I leave? Why did I leave? Why did I leave?”
‘To be honest with you I am sure Coutinho has been asking himself the same question for a while now. He left for Bayern Munich, he does sometimes play well but he’s not really a first-team player.’
‘I’m pretty sure it would work out for him [returning to England]. He fits perfectly with the Premier League,’ Petit added. ‘He’s got the vision, the technique, the speed, he can strike, he has the creativity. ‘We all know what he is capable of. I was a big fan of his when he was at Liverpool. I would be very, very happy to see him back in the Premier League.
‘He won’t go back to Liverpool. When I was at Barcelona, they wanted me back at Arsenal, and it was tempting – I was close to returning to Arsenal. ‘But at the end of the day, I was thinking “Emmanuel, you need to be honest with yourself. If you left a year ago it was for a reason”.
‘If Coutinho is honest with himself, since he left Liverpool they have won the Champions League and they’re on the way to winning the Premier League. Liverpool haven’t needed him, so why would he go back to Liverpool? I think we are all the same and it would be brilliant to see Coutinho back in the Premier League next season.