Ferdinand urges Manchester United to avoid Coutinho this summer

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes the club should decide against a move for Philippe Coutinho this summer. The Red Devils have been previously credited with an interest in the Barcelona man but Ferdinand feels the club don’t require the player’s services, particularly after the signing of Bruno Fernandes in January.

In a Q & A session on Instagram, he told: “At Liverpool he was an amazing player, but since he left Liverpool he hasn’t really done it yet. He struggled at Barcelona, struggled to fit in there and then he hasn’t done amazingly well at Bayern. I think he is a great player, a huge talent, I think he needs saving. Coming into the Premier League to the right team would be a saviour for him, he needs that. I would have said Man United before Bruno Fernandes turned up, but not now.”

Coutinho was one of the top performers at Liverpool prior to the departure to Barcelona in January 2018. He has since struggled to find the same level of consistency and that has contributed to the speculation of him returning to the Premier League. At present, the attacker is on a season-long loan at Bayern Munich but he is expected to return to the Camp Nou with the Bavarian giants deciding against the buy option.

Apart from United, Chelsea have also been linked with the former Internacional graduate. Blues boss Frank Lampard is expected to strengthen the squad after not spending over the past two transfer windows and it remains to be seen whether the club could make the move for Coutinho, who could cost around £92m. Of course, the west London outfit could propose an initial loan move for the attacker and reports have claimed that the Blaugrana will demand around £28m for a temporary move to go through.