Paul Coutts may be a good player, I'll admit I don't know much about him, but why is Clough so keen to go after players with serious injury troubles? It may offer value but it's also a big risk. We've already got J Wallace almost permanently out of action. McCarthy had been out a long time when he came on loan and struggled to make any impact until eventually we sent him back. Steve Davies is another one of Clough's targets who's struggled to stay fit. It takes players a long time to reach the level they were playing at prior to a long term injury, and some unfortunately never do.
As for Freeman, he was a good player last year, but we already have options in that position and Flynn has been excelling there recently. He will likely end up on the bench.
Neither would be terrible signings but it's questionable how much of an immediate impact they would make on the team, which is what we need.