Rumour Mongering: PSG Prepare £40M Coutinho Bid

Despite having just signed Julian Draxler £40M deal that will go through when the January transfer window officially opens next week, the rumour mongers are claiming today that Paris Saint-German could be set to pay that again for another massive signing: Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho.

It’s a rumour that will cause most Liverpool fans to raise their ‘brow skeptically and move on with their day. First, because £40M isn’t going to convince Liverpool to sell Coutinho even in a universe where the club is looking to offload him. It isn’t even a reasonable opening bid for him.

And second, because with Liverpool still having a shot at the title in England this season and positioned well to return to Europe next year, it’s hard to imagine Coutinho seeing a move to the struggling Ligue 1 big spenders, who currently sit a disappointing third in France’s top flight, as appealing.

At best, it would be a lateral move, and it probably wouldn’t even be that. Ligue 1 is a step down in prestige from the Premier League, and while PSG are big spenders relative their domestic rivals, they certainly wouldn’t be offering the 24-year-old wages that would shame Liverpool’s.

PSG, in January, with a supposed £40M bid in the works? That’s not threatening or concerning. Down the road, though, as they always seem to, Barcelona lurk. That, though, is a concern for the future. For now, the talk is PSG and January, and it’s talk that can be dismissed out of hand.