Why Leicester probably won’t take a gamble on Philippe Coutinho

The biggest reason I feel Coutinho won’t make the shift to the East Midlands is wages. Leicester City have spent years gradually increasing the wage budget in the squad, sustainably investing in the players who have achieved a lot of excellent things with the club, and also appreciating those with high potentials.

For the 29-year-old to fit into the wage structure at the club he’d have to take a massive pay cut, or the Foxes would have to uproot this system to enable Coutinho to join. The latter would be unforgivable — as it could massively damage the ethos at the club, while the former is unlikely to happen.

One of the other components of this deal is that it would ultimately be a loan move as well, which doesn’t benefit any of the three parties involved. Barcelona need to remove Coutinho from their wage bill, and doing so on a permanent basis is there real prerogative, rather than off-loading him for a year — again — and having to find another suitor upon his return a year later.

Coutinho would like regular football, but is also an ambitious footballer. After leaving Liverpool to play for Barcelona, Coutinho’s aim has always been to play at the height of domestic football — something the Foxes cannot offer in the UEFA Europa League.