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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

Philippe Coutinho’s Barcelona story is probably one of the most interesting and confusing ones in recent times.

Coming in hot from Liverpool and becoming Blaugrana’s most expensive purchase in the history of the club suggested the 27-year-old Brazilian would slot right in alongside the superstars in Catalunya.

Or at least, that’s what the price tag and his reputation demanded right from the get-go.

But it’s safe to say that it wasn’t to be.

Whether it was down to Ernesto Valverde’s management, Barcelona’s system and style of play or just the player’s inability to adapt to different scenery are now irrelevant. The main thing is that he’s no longer there, at least for now.

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Coutinho was shipped off on loan to Bayern Munich during the summer and so far, he’s already lighting up the Bundesliga.

The Brazilian has registered 1.3 shots, two key passes and 1.3 dribbles per game in the competition in the 192 minutes he has spent on the pitch for the Bavarians. In that time, he has both scored and registered an assist.

But Coutinho’s best performance perhaps came against Koln as Bayern strolled to a 4-0 triumph on the night. He registered one goal, one assist, a sublime seven key passes, five shots and recorded 85.7% passing accuracy.

By all standards, this was a masterclass.

According to Whoscored, Coutinho was also named Man of the Match with a near-perfect game-highest 9.77 rating.

We still don’t know what the future holds for the 27-year-old star but if he continues prospering at Bayern Munich, we could see his stay in Bavaria made permanent.

We’re a way off the end of his loan deal and it remains to be seen if his form can continue; it has, however, got off to the best possible start.