Mourinho makes final Coutinho transfer decision
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has made his final decision regarding Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho, and has opted against making a move for the Brazilian.
The Sun claims the Spurs boss doesn’t want to sign the flamboyant playmaker because he is worried it will make his other players ask for wage increases, a decision which will be music to the ears of Daniel Levy.
Spurs were one of the many teams linked with a move to sign Coutinho.
The Brazilian is expected to leave Barcelona this summer after he returns from his loan at Bayern Munich.
The Germans decided against taking up the clause to sign him permanently, but Barca are unlikely to keep him around as they set their sights on Lautaro Martinez, Miralem Pjanic and Neymar.
Coutinho’s agent has been vocal about the 27-year-old’s desire to return to the Premier League, but it now seems he won’t be joining up with Mourinho at Spurs.
The Tottenham chief apparently decided he didn’t want the signing of Coutinho – who earns a reported £240,000-per-week – to lead to an influx of players requesting bumper new contracts.
Spurs had the chance to sign Coutinho last summer, but club chairman Levy refused to pay his wages.
Tottenham are famous for their ability to keep top players without paying elite-level wages, with just six players earning more than £100,000-per-week.
And Mourinho has apparently decided to call off Spurs’ bid to sign Coutinho for that very reason.
However, Former Spurs striker Darren Bent disagrees with Mourinho’s decision, however, and urged the Portuguese boss to pay whatever it takes to get the ex-Liverpool man to London.
He told Football Insider that he felt Coutinho would be the ideal man to take last season’s Champions League runners-up to the next level.
“You’re talking about a top, top player who knows the Premier League very, very well. It’s not like you’re taking a risk,” he told Football Insider.
“Coutinho’s a top player, he’s a superstar signing that Spurs need and even if it’s on loan, that’s the sort of superstar that they need to maybe encourage other superstars to come there.
“For me, I’d go all out and pay that £8million, pay that and try and get him.
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“£8million for a top player like him for a year? You take that risk because at the end, you never know, at the end of the year it might work out really, really well.
“He could transform Spurs into an absolute powerhouse of a team. I wouldn’t even consider it – I’d just do it.”