Rating the top 10 January 2018 transfers and their progress in one year

#4 Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool to Barcelona)

Dribble, cut-inside, finesse shot, repeat. This is Philippe Coutinho in a nutshell at Barcelona. He has performed far from the expected level and is craving for some confidence.

The most expensive winter transfer in history. Philippe Coutinho joined Barcelona for a sum of €130 million.

Coutinho's start to his Barcelona career was amazing, to say the least. He made 18 appearances for Barcelona while scoring eight goals and creating five assists. He also had 1.5 key passes per game, 2.5 dribbles per game and an average match rating of 7.66.

However, almost one year after he joined Barcelona, even now he couldn't cement his place in the starting lineup.

What is his problem? No one has an exact answer. He is not good playing at the left-wing and neither in the central midfield.

Ousmane Dembele's astounding performances have earned him a place in the starting lineup and Coutinho is under more pressure to perform.

Maybe due to this pressure, he never really looks to play killer through balls. He'd rather pass it sideways to make sure he doesn't make a mistake.

But in Barcelona, they expect players to take risks and also succeed in it. Coutinho doesn't want to be the person to make a mistake.

At the moment, he tries too much all alone. Tries to dribble and cut inside of the defender and then finish with his finesse shot. But that is not enough because that is about everything that he does. No involvement in build-up play is not excusable at Barcelona even for a No.9.

He had shown some good signs against Eibar but he gave the ball away cheaply yesterday in Copa del Rey which resulted in a Sevilla goal. He had better pull his socks up and start delivering because sooner than later, he will lose his coach's trust.

Rating: 5/10

Verdict: A lot was expected of Coutinho and Barcelona splashed the cash on him. It is not Coutinho's fault entirely, there is absolutely no position where he can replace another player in the team.