BARCELONA (Reuters) - Barcelona shelled out a club record 160 million euros (£143.7 million) to prise Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, yet one year on from his signing, the Brazilian is struggling to get a game while his former side are thriving in his absence. He has failed to start any of the La Liga leaders' last three league games, falling behind Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal and French forward Ousmane Dembele in the pecking order. Coach Ernesto Valverde has stopped short of publicly criticising the player, and neglected to say whether he had a preference for Coutinho or Dembele, the club's second most expensive acquisition at 105 million euros. In the last three league outings, Valverde has continued to show faith in Dembele, despite the French youngster running into trouble for turning up late to training. With Liverpool sitting four points clear at the top of the Premier League, Coutinho may be wondering on Sunday's anniversary of his transfer from Anfield to the Nou Camp whether it was quite the dream move he had imagined at the time.

Source: The Star January 04, 2019 15:45 UTC