Iniesta would welcome Barca pursuit of Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho would be an ideal addition to Barcelona's squad in January, according to club legend Andres Iniesta.
Published : Dec 13, 2017 23:08 IST
Andres Iniesta has backed Barcelona to rekindle its interest in Liverpool forward Philippe Coutinho when the transfer window opens in January.
Coutinho was strongly linked with a move to Camp Nou earlier in the season but a transfer never materialised, Barca opting to sign Ousmane Dembele instead.
Dembele sustained an injury in only his second LaLiga appearance and has not featured since, leaving the Catalan giant short of options in attack.
That could see it renew its pursuit of Coutinho, and Iniesta believes the Brazilian — and Colombia international Yerry Mina — would be good additions to Ernesto Valverde's squad.
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"I think they would be two important reinforcements to the squad," Iniesta said at a promotional event.
"If the club wants to strengthen those positions, it should be with players that can be prepared to withstand the pressure of a club like this, and they would be two big signings.
"But nothing has happened, so it's difficult."
One player Barca is highly unlikely to sign is former star Neymar — who left for Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record move in August — although the forward has been linked with a return to Spain with Real Madrid.
There has been speculation Neymar is unsettled at PSG and Iniesta admits seeing his former team-mate switch to Los Blancos would bother him.
"I would be indifferent," he said on a potential transfer. "It's not something that matters to me in that sense, but maybe it would bother me because I understand that he is a unique and decisive player and our biggest rivals would be reinforced.
"But this is hypothetical. In football anything can happen. If it happens, we'll see."