Irreplaceable? Can Liverpool Cope Without Philippe Coutinho In The Team?
The final day of the previous Premier League campaign saw some smiles on Liverpool faces but not much has gone according to the plan ever since. Liverpool have managed to sign Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson for the first team next season but they are struggling to get deals done for top transfer targets this summer.
Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk in defence and RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita in midfield are two players Jurgen Klopp is desperate for and there are a number of contradicting reports in the media regarding both players that have surely left the fans frustrated.
As if that was not enough, recent reports have now got Liverpool hearts beating faster. According to a number of news outfits around Europe, the most valuable player in the current Liverpool squad, Philippe Coutinho, is now a transfer target for two of the biggest clubs in Europe this summer.
The Brazilian signed a long-term contract with no release clause, just a few months ago but it is understood that Spanish outfit Barcelona and French outfit PSG, are both interested in his signature this summer. Klopp is confident that he will not lose Coutinho before the start of the season but can the Reds cope without their talisman next season?
The former Inter Milan man is not expected to leave the club for anything less than £80m. Though it is not an astonishing price in this transfer market, it can still fetch some star players into the club this summer. Real Madrid’s Isco could be a perfect replacement and Klopp will certainly look at him and a few others to spend big on, replacing the Brazilian before the start of the next season.
But the Reds are not in such bad a position at the moment as they do have the likes of Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum, who can play a similar role in the squad, albeit with much less trickery and creativity.
The loss of Luis Suarez in 2014 was something Liverpool found seriously hard to bounce back from but at the moment, the squad is much more than just one player. The likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah represent one of the best attacks in England out wide while Daniel Sturridge when fit, and Robert Firmino are capable forwards in the lineup.
More than anything else, they have one of the best managers in Jurgen Klopp, who will have a plan on how to replace the magician next season so surely, if they lose Coutinho, Liverpool will be able to cope better than they did when they lost their Uruguayan hero.
Who can replace him in the squad is a question for another piece but at the moment, Liverpool, though they should not sell Coutinho, are not tied to just one talent in their squad.