Philippe Coutinho Could Be an Unlikely Star at Barcelona Under Ronald Koeman

From being dubbed Barcelona's worst transfer in modern history to, out of nowhere, being hailed as a beacon of hope for the Catalan club - it's was quite an interesting month for Philippe Coutinho.

Reports in Spain suggest that new Barca boss Ronald Koeman has assured the midfield maestro that his place in the Dutchman's side is secured next season. And with so much upheaval, uncertainty and confusion surrounding the five-times European champions, maybe Koeman's assurances to Coutinho are justifiable.

Many people would have you believe the Brazilian playmaker's form has fallen off a cliff since leaving Liverpool in the winter of 2018, but that simply isn't the case. He bagged 22 goals and 14 assists throughout 2017/18 - including eight La Liga strikes in his first six months at the Camp Nou.

Since then his numbers have dropped off but 11 goals in each of his last two seasons is nothing to be sniffed at. Add in his trophy haul of two La Liga crowns, two Copa del Reys, a Bundesliga title and a DFB-Pokal victory as well as his recent Champions League triumph, and it becomes ever more unclear as to why the former Inter man's stock has fallen so dramatically.

Of course, for £142m you expect the world but perhaps Coutinho was doomed from the beginning of his first spell in Barcelona. Replacing Neymar was never going to be an easy task. An impossible task maybe.

The now Paris Saint-Germain winger had delivered three league titles, two domestic cups and a Champions League during his time in the Catalan capital, and was one-third of the world's deadliest attacking trio. He scored 105 goals and provided 77 assists in just 186 games for Barcelona. Stats Coutinho could only dream of matching.

Neymar shocked the world when he left for Paris in a world-record move and when the other half of the duo tasked with replacing him, Ousmane Dembele, suffered a huge hamstring injury early on into his Blaugrana career, he left the burden of succeeding the world's most expensive player weighing heavily on Coutinho's shoulders.

But now things are different. Much different.

Barcelona have had a trophy-less season for the first time since 2008, their manager has been sacked after just eight months, their sporting director has followed him out of the door, and there's even serious talk of Lionel Messi wanting to depart. Not to mention the ageing squad that were the recent victims of an 8-2 humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich. A shocking defeat that Coutinho heavily contributed to.

At 28, Coutinho is five years younger than Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and Messi. Four years younger than Ivan Rakitic and a year Antoine Griezmann and Martin Braithwaite's junior. In other words, he's a spring chicken in comparison to most of Barca's declining forward options.

With money tight at the Camp Nou, Coutinho could essentially be Koeman's marquee signing this summer. The arrival of a new player who's won the league for three consecutive seasons in two different countries and the Champions League to boot would generate huge fanfare under normal circumstances.

With Suarez looking set to depart, according to The Guardian via Catalan radio station RAC-1, after six successful years in Spain, a natural opening may just have appeared for his South American teammate to really nail down a place in Barca's starting XI.

Griezmann and Messi are more than capable of playing through the middle, meaning Coutinho could take up his favoured left-wing position in a front three.

There may be a lot of doom and gloom surrounding Barcelona at the moment but it is often the case that in clubs' darkest hours light can come from the most unlikeliest of places.

Think Marcus Rashford going from an unknown teenager to providing hope for Manchester United. Alessandro Matri firing Juventus to their first Serie A title in nine years after relegation to the second division, and Mario Balotelli providing his only league assist at Manchester City as the Cityzens were moments away from letting their maiden Premier League crown slip through their fingers.

Football is full of unlikely heroes and Coutinho could just be Barcelona's next season.