CHELSEA target Philippe Coutinho could have joined the club when he was 14, according to Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers.
The former Blues youth coach and reserve team manager under Jose Mourinho explained how the West London club tried to sign the Brazilian in 2004.
Rodgers did finally sign the attacking ace from Inter Milan when he was manager of Liverpool in 2013.
With the Barcelona star poised to make a return to the Premier League – and Chelsea one of his most likely destinations – the former Celtic manager detailed how the Blues narrowly missed out on landing their man.
He told The Beautiful Game Podcast via the Evening Standard: “When I was looking at the team in the first six months, there were certain ingredients we were missing.
“Philippe was one I knew from my Chelsea days because we tried to get him to Chelsea when he was 14 but he had already committed to Inter Milan.
“We talked about him during the summer and kept tabs on him then all of a sudden he became available and at 19 I thought: ‘Wow, right, let’s get this boy in’.”
Coutinho swapped Anfield for the Nou Camp in a bumper £145million deal back in 2018 but failed to settle at the Catalan giants.
He was shipped out on loan to German champions Bayern Munich at the start of this season.
During his spell at the Allianz Arena, the no10 has showed glimpses of his former self by bagging eight goals and six assists in 22 Bundesliga appearances.
The 27-year-old is now being heavily linked with a return to England and reports in Spain suggest clubs will have to pay £9m for a season-long loan and £71m for a permanent deal.
Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian confirmed the player would “definitely be looking” at a Premier League return.
He could end up playing in London but for Chelsea’s rivals Arsenal as the Gunners are also keeping tabs on the situation.
