The Sun have revealed that Philippe Coutinho will sign for Everton this summer, in a deal worth £35m.

What's the latest news on Philippe Coutinho?

It was recently reported that the Toffees are keen on signing Coutinho from Barcelona.

They now appear to have stepped up their interest, and are extremely confident of getting the deal done. The club are believed to be house-hunting for the Brazilian midfielder, as he prepares to return to Merseyside.

How many goals and assists did Coutinho get for Liverpool?

Coutinho previously spent five years at Liverpool between 2013 and 2018, proving a major hit with the Anfield faithful.

During his time at the club, he racked up 54 goals and 45 assists in 201 appearances across all competitions. Despite these impressive numbers, he was unable to win any silverware before he departed for Barcelona three years ago.

Has Coutinho been a flop at Barcelona?

It is hard to argue that he hasn't been.

When he joined the Catalan giants in 2018 for a fee in the region of £142m, it seemed that he was ready to become a global superstar. He has since managed 23 goals and 14 assists in his 90 matches for the team.

While these statistics are not disastrous, Barcelona would have expected more given the money that they paid for Coutinho. He spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Bayern Munich prior to returning to the Spanish side this year.

However, this term has not gone to plan, with Coutinho playing just 12 La Liga matches and scoring only twice. He has not played in 2021 due to injury, and is not set to return before the season reaches its conclusion.

Would Coutinho be a good signing for Everton?

There is no doubting that Coutinho would be a big-name signing, but right now he is not what Carlo Ancelotti needs.

It is understood that the Italian coach views Coutinho and James Rodriguez as a mouthwatering pairing, but in reality Coutinho's arrival would simply clog up Everton's central midfield even more.

The team have scored just 44 goals in the Premier League this season - they are the joint-lowest scorers in the top half. Part of their issue has been that they have looked one-dimensional in attack at times, with Rodriguez and Richarlison cutting inside off their flanks, meaning that the midfield becomes congested, and they are not getting enough of a threat from their wings. Bringing Coutinho in would only exacerbate this problem. 

Meanwhile, the team have also conceded 40 goals, and require a high-class centre-back to make them a tougher proposition to break down. 

What is Marcel Brands' transfer record at Everton?

Sporting Director Marcel Brands has done well to bring some top names to Everton in recent years such as Lucas Digne, Rodriguez and Richarlison, all of whom are important members of Ancelotti's strongest starting XI.

But the Coutinho deal feels like a rare blunder on his part. Given the make-up of Everton's squad, he should be looking to bring in another central defender or a right winger to complement Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front. Coutinho ticks neither of those boxes and only doubles down on the type of midfielder Ancelotti already has at his disposal.