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Philippe Coutinho urged to join Man Utd over Liverpool - ‘You’ve got to take that chance’
PHILIPPE COUTINHO should join Manchester United if the Red Devils want to sign the Barcelona star, reckons former West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop.
Coutinho should 'take a chance' and move to United says Hislop
Coutinho is linked with a move away from Barcelona after just 18 months at the club.
The Brazilian cost Barca £142.5million in January 2018 when they signed him from Liverpool.
However, Coutinho has failed to live up to his billing at the Nou Camp and the arrival of Antoine Griezmann this summer and continued pursuit of Neymar has made it doubly difficult for him to get a regular starting spot under Ernesto Valverde.
Liverpool were linked with a move to re-sign Coutinho earlier this summer and Manchester United were also said to be keen.
Maybe there’s a more urgent need for Manchester United, who do have a lot of money
Hislop says the rivalry between Liverpool and United may come into Philippe Coutinho’s decision over a possible transfer to Old Trafford.
But he claims, if he was advising the forward, he would be telling him to go to United over his old club.
“The easiest fit maybe would be for a Liverpool, give how successful he was [there before],” Hislop told ESPN FC.
“But you’re not going to pay what Barcelona paid for Coutinho.
“Maybe there’s a more urgent need for Manchester United, who do have a lot of money, given their own brand and their own commercial machine.
“Given the fact that they’ve certainly under-delivered over the last couple of seasons, maybe you need that big-name player to come in.
“I think Manchester United more than any need that impact from a midfielder.
“But, would Coutinho go to Old Trafford without Champions League football being in the offing?
“That’s a question for him and his representatives.
Liverpool: Signing Coutinho is 'worth a gamble' says Hislop
“Personally, if I were advising him, I would say ‘yes, you’ve got to take that chance’.
“But then of course there’s the relationship between Manchester United and Liverpool and all that comes into play.
“But all of the things being equal, I think it’s a chance worth taking. Outside that, who has the cash to afford Coutinho?
“I’m not sure there are many out there.”