Newcastle United could make shock move for Barcelona star

Newcastle United continue to be linked with one name after the other when it comes to making potential moves in the upcoming summer transfer window. And it is not hard to see why as The Magpies decided to splash out in January, and would be expected to repeat that trick when the transfer window reopens once again.

One of the most unexpected names that the club have been linked with recently though is that of Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa.

Coutinho enjoyed a brilliant start at Aston Villa but it must be said that his form has faded away quite a bit over the past few games. He has shown a lot of promise though and appears to have caught the attention of The Magpies.

As reported by the Mirror, Newcastle United have been linked with Coutinho for a long time and could make a play for the Barcelona star, if Eddie Howe wants to make a marquee signing in the summer.

Could Newcastle United end up making a move for Coutinho?

Till now, we have not seen Howe try to sign marquee players. Instead, he seems to be the kind of manager who looks for those who fit his style of football, and it does not matter if they are highly rated or not.

We have already seen quite a few players arrive at Newcastle United since Howe was appointed and out of those, Bruno Guimaraes is arguably the only one who was drawing interest from a number of clubs before completing a move to St James’ Park.

Coutinho has been solid for Aston Villa, since joining on loan till the end of the season. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 4 goals and provided 3 assists in 12 appearances in the Premier League till now during this campaign.