FC Barcelona Rumors Central: Philippe Coutinho (L) & Adriano. (Photo : Reuters)
The gruesome injury suffered by Manchester United defender Luke Shaw during their UEFA Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday has potential repercussions at the backfield positions of the world's highest football leagues.
Rumors were out that Louis van Gaal is searching for a possible replacement for their injured 20-year-old left back at the other major leagues and La Liga's Barcelona is one of their primary targets.
Meanwhile, Barça wants to keep their backfield strong amidst speculations and as their transfer ban is about to be lifted in January, they are reportedly looking for midfield attackers as well.
Barcelona on target to sign Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho in January: Luis Enrique is said to be craving for the 23-year-old Brazil international to play behind his three-headed monster of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez at Camp Nou. If such a deal would push through, Barça may become unstoppable offensively.
Liverpool had been struggling lately and they may want to have resources to sign more strikers in their fold as Christian Benteke alone seems to be not enough to provide them the goals.
Coutinho's release clause is reportedly £21 million, something that Barça is prepared to give, even as Neymar and Suarez are persuading the Rio native to join them in Spain.
However, with all the potential excitement it may generate for Barcelona fans, there are still not enough evidence of this rumor. Verdict: Fiction.
Man United considers Brazilian Adriano as possible replacement for Luke Shaw: Red Devils manager van Gaal is reportedly "weighing up" a deal to sign the 30-year-old full-back from the Catalonian giants.
Of course, there are other options for van Gaal, but reports were out that Adriano is their "priority signing."
Van Gaal and Enrique has a good history between them and so an agreement is highly likely to happen in January, if the latter could find someone to replace Adriano first. Verdict: Fact.
