Can Coutinho be the big fish at Bayern?

Philippe Coutinho has moved to German heavyweights Bayern Munich on a season long loan deal from Barcelona with an option to buy at around €120m. Just after moving to Catalonia from Liverpool for £142m just over 18 months ago, making him the fourth most expensive signing of all-time, Barcelona have shipped him out of the Camp Nou. Did Barcelona utilized him well enough which he could get at Bayern or is he a big fish that needs a smaller pond?

Coutinho's time at the Camp Nou was a short but unsuccessful one. Seen as the successor to Andrés Iniesta, the Brazilian actually started off quite well scoring 10 goals in 22 appearances for the Catalan club. That's not to the form he displayed in his final six months at Liverpool, scoring 12 goals and creating 8 assists in 20 appearances in all competitions including 2017/18. Following the departure of Iniesta, Coutinho, aside from Messi, would become the creative hub of the team but that wasn't to be.

He was unable to replicate that into last season scoring 11 goals and creating just five assists in 54 appearances. The Brazilian's performances were poor for majority of the season with his anonymous showing against Liverpool in the semifinals of the Champions League last season a prime example when he was subbed off after 60 minutes in both legs. Constantly criticized by the Spanish Press, the Brazilian lost confidence and was booed by many in the Camp Nou.

Despite all these problems, it is not entirely his fault. Barça's plan was to make Coutinho the creative hub, which he was during his time at Anfield. Despite playing on the wing for Liverpool, he was still going centrally to open spaces and create chances for others with he did to full effect. However, at Barcelona, that became a problem with Lionel Messi playing that same way forcing Valverde to play him out of his position which affected his confidence even when he played centrally as he lost possession of the ball constantly, making Barcelona vulnerable to counter attacks.

Then there is the matter of him not cutting it with the big fishes in the big pond. At Liverpool, he was the standout performer in a side that consisted of mediocre players during his time there with the attention on him from play going through him and opposition keeping him quiet. While it is difficult to standout with the likes of Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Coutinho became more a problem in his inability to effectively work in their system.

Now that he has moved to Bavaria, he will be hoping to rekindle his career in the Bundesliga. It will not be easy for him though, he will be compared to Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry and will have to get the ground running not only to savage his career and remind people of his qualities but to silence his critics as well who doubt his ability to cut it out with the top players.