Rangers have one of those Europa League groups that looks ok on paper without any big names but in Philippe Coutinho, Michael Beale might have been facing a well known face.
The former Liverpool playmaker was a teammate of Steven Gerrard and it was the former Gers boss who brought the Brazilian back to the Premier League at Aston Villa.
Thankfully for Rangers though, Philippe Coutinho is set to join the Saudi Arabia exodus with Fabrizio Romano revealing that a moved to Real Betis was recently rejected.
Rangers boost as Phillipe Coutinho decides next destination
The Spaniards already have household names like Claudio Bravo, Hector Bellerin, William Carvahlo and Isco in their ranks with a good mix of youth and experience.
It will be a tough enough test as it is for Rangers and Philippe Coutinho would have made it harder.
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After an impressive debut off the bench where he scored one and created another, the former £100m Barcelona signing hasn’t hit the heights of his previous spell in England.
With Luiz Suarez leading the line, Coutinho supporting and Gerrard leading from deep, Liverpool came agonisingly close to ending their Premier League jinx with an attacking line up and entertaining style of play.
There is a noticeable spark that has been missing from Coutinho’s game for some time and it is only a surprise that he didn’t head to Saudi Arabia sooner.
Rangers have struggled in the past to deal with players like Philippe Coutinho though, players who operate between the lines and in pockets of space that are hard to pick up.
All we need to worry about now is Isco…