Tottenham appear to be zeroing in on a loan move for Philippe Coutinho, but if it were up to Gerard Pique, he’d make sure his Barcelona team-mate remained at Camp Nou.
Spurs have jolted into life in the transfer market just 36 hours away from the end of the British transfer window (GST: 20:00), having had a bid accepted for Juventus attacker Paulo Dybala while they remain on the tails of Sporting Lisbon playmaker Bruno Fernandes and Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso.
Former Liverpool man Coutinho is now seemingly another option for Mauricio Pochettino, as the club work to thrash out a loan deal with Barca before the window closes.
Barcelona are currently in Miami as part of their pre-season tour and Pique is crossing his fingers that Coutinho sticks around to compete for a spot in an attack that has seen the addition of Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.
“I want him (Coutinho) to stay, but at the end of the day it’s what he wants and I want him to be happy,” said Pique.
“Let’s see. Until the last day of the transfer market we will not know if he stays or not. But it’s not my decision, it’s the club’s and Philippe’s.”
Pique, 32, is bidding for his ninth La Liga title with Barcelona next year, though is wary of expecting too much from the Champions League after being the victims of heart-breaking comebacks in successive years against Roma and Liverpool.
“The arrival of players like Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann will certainly help us in all competitions,” added Pique.
“We have to see the season with perspective. We won La Liga last season which was great, but we should control expectations with the Champions League. Our main goal is La Liga, the Champions League is like Russian roulette.”
