Liverpool have to match Philippe Coutinho’s ambition
Barcelona have tabled an £ 72m offer for Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, but the Reds must not allow their main man leave – at any price. Barca, much like their La Liga rivals Real Madrid, are accustomed to their money and status being enough to lure any player in the world they want. It should not work at Anfield; Liverpool don’t need the money – and should be using their own status to ensure Coutinho stays.
The Brazilian is still only 25 and his quality, alongside his ability to play multiple roles, makes him a vital component of manager Jürgen Klopp’s plans. Little wonder other clubs are interested – for Liverpool he is arguably irreplaceable.
Liverpool should have gone into that next season on a high, building on what had been a phenomenal run domestically. Instead, Liverpool slumped.
The Reds embarked on that Champions League campaign as if they had accidentally gatecrashed somebody else’s expensive party. Their capitulation to Barca’s rivals Real Madrid – 3-0 down at home by half-time followed by damage limitation for the second half – was a particular low point. In many ways it was defined by Liverpool’s summer window activity.
Suarez’s departure was in the same summer that Liverpool missed out on Alexis Sanchez, having apparently not considered he might say no. When he did, the Reds had no contingency.
Not only had Suarez been allowed to leave, Liverpool failed to sign anybody capable of filling at least some of that huge hole his departure had left. If anything, Mario Balotelli made it bigger.
Klopp has been getting grilled throughout pre-season about potential new signings and is understandably reluctant to discuss them, but he did point out how important it is to hang onto existing quality: “The good news is that actually we didn’t lose – and we will not lose – a player we want to keep this summer. That’s the best news actually and then we’ll see who can bring into the squad.”
Pressed on the Coutinho news, Klopp was unequivocal: “I’m not surprised that any club is interested in players at Liverpool,” he said. “The very important message is that we are not a selling club and that’s how it is.” Liverpool still have some work to do to prove that.
In Suarez’s case it was always going to be difficult to keep hold of him – he was already looking elsewhere, Liverpool only just avoiding losing him to Arsenal for a pound over £40m a year before.
Coutinho has always distanced himself from rumours about a move. Speaking at the end of last season, after being asked about Barcelona rumours, the Brazilian said: “I have a long contract with Liverpool – speculation is for journalists only.”
Suarez also had a long Reds contract when Barca came calling – but it had a release clause in it, the one that the Catalan side knew they could leverage to get their man. Coutinho’s new deal, signed in January, has no such clause. Yet Liverpool fans would be kidding themselves if they thought the absence of a release clause was enough to keep Coutinho at the club. He has never really been money motivated. What will keep him at Anfield is a feeling that he is in a team that is going places, where success is genuinely just around the corner, at a club ready to make that push on and off the field.
One measure of that is how Liverpool perform in this transfer window. The squad that got them into the Champions League is neither big enough nor good enough to fight on all fronts next season. Mohamed Salah is a massive boost, but Liverpool’s currently unsuccessful attempts to move for Naby Keïta and Virgil van Dijk point to the kind of quality Klopp feels his squad needs an injection of.
If Liverpool could pull these deals off it would remove any doubts Coutinho might be feeling about where his future should lie. Failure should not be an option. Failure could be enough to turn Coutinho’s head.
Klopp remains positive, it’s hard to imagine him any other way, and he made it clear how important Coutinho was to his plans: “Phil is a very important player for us. He’s trying to get back his rhythm but there’s no doubt about his quality. He’s very smart both offensively and defensively.