Newcastle United are reportedly now 'on the prowl' to sign Philippe Coutinho in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Remembering his Liverpool days

Coutinho is a name that will be very familiar to Premier League fans from his time at Liverpool, where he was quite simply sensational, scoring 54 goals and making a further 45 assists in 201 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt).

His performances earned him a big-money move to FC Barcelona back in the 2018 winter window, in which he left Anfield for a whopping £121.5m.

His form allowed him to work his way into the Brazil national team as well, as the great Pele admitted that he liked Coutinho back in 2015, calling him an 'excellent' and 'intelligent' player.

The Latest: Newcastle 'on the prowl'

As per Sport, the St. James' Park faithful are now 'on the prowl' to sign Coutinho in January, and the North East could be one of his 'possible destinations'.

He will be given a chance to impress new manager Xavi, who has recently described him as having an 'innate talent', otherwise he could well be sold in a couple of months.

The Verdict: Risky?

Coutinho has struggled to settle into life at Barca, and so signing him would be risky business for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

There is certainly a question mark over whether he can recapture the form that he had when he was in England before, as that was over three years ago now.

However, as Xavi recognises, Coutinho still has talent, and at 29 years of age, still has plenty of time to prove that he is still one of the best.

Nonetheless, he could add some 'creative flair' and 'pace in attack' that Eddie Howe himself noted when Liverpool thrashed his AFC Bournemouth side 4-0 in 2017 (The Liverpool Echo), and could turn out to be the difference between relegation from the Premier League and staying up.

In other news, find out which six-foot-one powerhouse NUFC are eyeing here!