Why Coutinho Should Not Contemplate Leaving Liverpool Yet
Jurgen Klopp has more than one problem this summer at Anfield as he is trying to get deals done for top transfer targets. He is having to keep away top clubs in Europe, who want the star players at Anfield for a move this summer.
The Reds are finding it hard to get the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita, two of their top transfer targets, to sign for the club and as if that was not enough of a challenge for Klopp, he is now having to fend off interests from Catalan giants Barcelona for his star player Philippe Coutinho.
The Daily Mail revealed that Barcelona made a €80m bid for the 25-year-old and are ready to improve his wages to lure him to Camp Nou. The manager, who is on a pre-season tour in Hong Kong, was asked about this situation but he did not look too fazed and claimed that he is not for sale.
Like numerous times before this, Klopp revealed that Liverpool are an ambitious club who are not ready to sell their top players.
“That is what we can say. But that is not since Thursday or this morning, It was not different to anytime,” he said in a recent interview in Asia.
This will surely fill the fans with some optimism but Barcelona may about to lose Brazilian super star Neymar Jr to PSG in a mega million move, and they might not be afraid to pay more than €80m for Coutinho as a natural replacement.
However, it will not be easy for the La Liga outfit to convince Coutinho to move, especially after the player has also repeatedly claimed that he feels at home at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp. And there are a number of reasons why he should not even contemplate making the switch to Camp Nou.
At 25, Coutinho is still a bit raw and though he is the best player Liverpool have at the moment, he is not yet close to being the best in the world. Barcelona need a player who can instantly improve the squad and take Neymar’s position and though there are very few viable options, Coutinho is not the optimal one.
If Neymar stays, it makes no sense for the Liverpool man to make a switch but if PSG get their man, Coutinho might face a dilemma, as a first team spot will be waiting for him at the Camp Nou. But even then, it is a bit too early for him to make such a huge switch in his career.
The best situation for the 25-year old will be to make sure that he can keep up his good work for a year or two and follow former Liverpool star Luis Suarez, who moved to Catalonia in his prime as a footballer. But at the moment, the best place for Coutinho to be is playing week-in, week-out is Anfield.