Report explains why Tottenham walked away from Coutinho pursuit

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The Mirror claim Tottenham Hotspur pulled out of signing Philippe Coutinho on transfer deadline day because Barcelona were demanding too much to merely loan him out.

Apparently the Catalan giants were after a whopping £30 million from any club wanting the Brazilian for just one season.

Coutinho’s wages would have taken the total costs to around £40 million.

Spurs considered the potential costs involved to be not worth it, and they therefore abandoned their pursuit of the former Liverpool man, as did Arsenal.

Coutinho will not be moving to the Premier League with the deadline now closed for English clubs, but could join a foreign club with the window for European teams still open for another few weeks.

TBR’s view

Spurs were right to walk away from Coutinho if the reports are to be believed.

A £40 million outlay on a player for just one season is fairly outrageous, even if it was for a player of Coutinho’s quality.

That said, the South American had an awful 2018/19, making Barca’s demand all the more perplexing.

The idea of Coutinho joining Spurs was exciting for fans at the time, and there was disappointment when news filtered through that the club would not be signing him.

But surely few will have any regrets now – a move was simply never feasible.