Call it Deja Cou!
Klopp bracing himself for another Barcelona bid
LONDON: Juergen Klopp is steeling himself for another battle with Barcelona over star man Philippe Coutinho.
The Liverpool boss knows that the Spanish giants are lining up a £130mil (RM712mil) bid for his Brazilian playmaker.
And even the thrill of orchestrating this exhilarating Red machine might not be enough to keep the little magician on Merseyside this time.
When he left the pitch to a standing ovation and a touchline bear hug from Klopp on Saturday, many Scousers were left wondering if that was the last time they will ever see Coutinho at Anfield.
Klopp is adamant he does not have to sell to offset the cost of £75mil (RM411mil) Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutch centrehalf completed his club record move from Southampton on Sunday. It takes Liverpool’s spending in two years under Klopp to £220mil (RM1bil), with a further £48mil (RM263mil) already committed to buying Red Bull Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita in the summer.
The issue with Coutinho, though, is not purely about money. He has set his heart on playing for Barca and Klopp knows the move is simply a matter of when and not if.
When Coutinho, 25, missed the Reds’ first six games of the season after Barcelona’s opening bid for his services, the club blamed a mystery back injury for his absence.
But it was not bad enough to prevent him from travelling back to Brazil for a couple of World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Colombia.
And it was only after the transfer window had closed that Coutinho was miraculously fit enough to return to Kop duty in mid-September.
Liverpool are adamant that the player did not down tools in the way Van Dijk had done in a bid to force through his dream move. But there is no doubt that Coutinho’s head has been turned by the prospect of playing alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez for the Spanish champions-elect.
For as brilliant as Liverpool have been at times this season, the fact remains that they are still 18 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City and two places worse off than they were on New Year’s Day in 2017.
Coutinho has noted how Suarez has won nine major trophies in three years since his move from Merseyside. And he fears Barcelona might turn their attention elsewhere if he does not move during the January transfer window.
He has reportedly been offered a five-year contract worth a staggering £400,000 (RM2mil) a week by the Spanish giants but still has more than two years left on his £ 150,000 ( RM 821,411)- a- week Liverpool deal.
But Klopp knows that Coutinho is not the sort of player who would try to force his way out of the club and hopes to persuade him to stay at Anfield at least until the end of the season.