Brazil and Bayern Munich former striker Giovani Elber says Philippe Coutinho lacks aggression and is easily shaken defining his abilities as shameful for a player of his caliber.

The Barcelona loanee is under the radar of several clubs including Chelsea and Newcastle after Bayern Munich rejected to his transfer from Barca due to a dip in form and injury crises.

Elber told Goal in his interview that Coutinho was a great player when joining Barcelona from Liverpool but things just didn’t work out for the Brazilian, which keeps affecting his performance on the field of play.

 “When Philippe arrived at Bayern, everybody hope that we would see the same Coutinho from Liverpool, where he had great games, but he came after a season at Barcelona where things weren't good for him. I think maybe that stuck in his head,” he said.

“I think he's a person who gets shaken very easily when things aren't going so well. He's not a person who thinks, 'I'm Philippe Coutinho and I'm going to fix this.'

"It's different from one person to another but, during my time, we had some players – Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguayan, for example – who were like this.

“There are people who think 'I'm going to nail this game' and there are other that get shaken. I think Coutinho lacks some aggression. It's a shame because he's a great player.”

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The retired forward who spent 6 seasons with Bayern Munich from 1997 to 2003, scoring 139 goals in 265 games in all competitions hoped to offer the Selecao star some words of encouragement and support before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a halt of play across the globe.

“I don't know whether Bayern will keep him or not,” Elber added.

"Things can change very quickly in football.

“I wanted to speak to him but then, the pandemic happened. Although we already have Thiago (Coutinho's father) helping him, I wanted to give him some advice, speak about Bayern and tell him about how we see his situation from the outside.

“When he gets the ball, everybody starts thinking something extraordinary is going to happen, but he can't expect that he'll do that every time he gets the ball.

“Sometimes, you have to make an easy pass, do the basics, before trying dribbles, or a nutmeg.

“But, in the beginning, you have to have more focus on the team, try to make fewer mistakes and gain confidence. I think he lacks confidence sometimes."