Given Everton's spotty run of form in the Premier League, winning just one of their 11 previous league games, the upcoming January transfer window could allow the Merseyside club to strengthen and freshen up their squad to put them in a good shape for the second half of the campaign.

However, it seems as though Everton have been mentioned with a potential move for a player that not only would be a very familiar face to a lot of fans in Merseyside but would also be a player that some fans would not want to see wearing their club's shirt.

What's the news?

According to Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), Everton are in the frame, alongside fellow Premier League club Newcastle United, for a potential swoop for Barcelona and former Liverpool attacker Philippe Coutinho.

The report claims that the Brazilian is not wanted at Barcelona and that his agent is waiting on the likes of Everton and Newcastle to make a formal approach for Coutinho.

During his time with Liverpool, Coutinho managed to rack up 54 goals and 45 assists in 201 appearances across all competitions before making his mega-money move to Barcelona in a deal worth a reported overall total of £142m in 2018.

With 106 appearances under his belt with the La Liga side, Coutinho's spell at Barcelona has been widely regarded as a disappointing one, which is presumably why the club are looking to get rid of him despite the huge amount of money they paid for him.

Last month, Coutinho, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £380k-per-week according to Salary Sport, answered some of the criticism thrown his way during his time at Barcelona after being called "lazy" by the Spanish media, which apparently surprised him.

It's hard to see many Toffees fans being excited about potentially seeing the former Liverpool man, who has scored three goals and provided two assists in the nine games he's played against Everton, join Rafa Benitez's squad.

Given how Benitez previously criticised former Everton midfielder James Rodriguez for not wanting to work hard for the team and preferring "a comfortable life and money more than the competition," it seems as though Coutinho could be the next version of the Colombian at Goodison Park given the doubts over his work rate in Spain.

Overall, it would be worth Farhad Moshiri not risking any further fury at Everton from the supporters by stepping away from a potential move for the Brazilian and looking elsewhere for potential reinforcements in January.

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