Manuel Neuer sure Philippe Coutinho will contribute to Bayern | OneFootball

Manuel Neuer has backed Philippe Coutinho to play his part in the second half of the season for Bayern Munich.

The Brazilian is out of favour at the Allianz Arena at the moment.

And the 28-year-old was in the news recently as reports suggested Bayern will not be taking up the option of buying him from Barcelona at the end of the season.

Coutinho has found himself on the bench for league games against Schalke and Mainz since the Bundesliga resumed after the Winter Break, with Leon Goretzka preferred in the attacking midfield role.

However, Bayern goalkeeper Neuer has no doubt Coutinho will force his way back into the reckoning before too long.

“He works great against the ball, better than in the first half of the season. He also invested and worked a lot in the preparation,” Neuer told Munich newspaper Tz.

“I think he will definitely help us. It is a matter of time before he is back in the first eleven.”

Coutinho’s career has stalled since making the move from Liverpool to Barcelona two years ago, and this loan move to Germany has yet to work out as he would have wished.

The diminutive playmaker will hope Neuer’s words prove prophetic and that he manages to help Bayern on both the domestic and European fronts in the coming months.