Kop best place for Coutinho
® PHILIPPE COUTINHO has been told that Liverpool is still the best place for him.
Barcelona target Coutinho wants to quit the club after stunning them with a transfer request last week.
But Liverpool insist the Brazil forward is not for sale at any price, rejecting bids of £72m and £90m from the Spanish giants.
Yesterday Kop boss Jurgen Klopp said he cannot understand why anyone would want to leave Anfield.
“I will never talk about something I spoke about with a player,” said Klopp.
“You can imagine, in general, I think for each player Liverpool is a very good club, a very good team in the moment.
“We have a good age of the group. We have very young boys, experience. It’s a good mix and we are on our way.
Project
“I think we got rid of the expectations of 20 years ago and created our own expectations for all the people. They expect a lot from us because of what we did last season.
“I am fine with the situation and I am very positive about the project of Liverpool.
“I don’t see a lot of reasons for each player to leave the club at the moment.”
Barcelona are desperate to land Coutinho and Borussia Dortmund star Ousmane Dembele after selling Neymar to Paris St-Germain for £200m.
Barca general manager Pep Segura – a former Liverpool coach – claimed “we are close to Coutinho and Dembele” after losing to Real Madrid in midweek.
But Klopp said: “Nothing to say from our side. I don’t know why other people are saying what they are saying. I don’t even know them, especially this guy. I’ve never even met him.
“I have no reaction. I saw the game but I forgot to watch the interviews afterwards.”
Klopp also has no fears that Coutinho, who misses tomorrow’s clash with Crystal Palace with a back injury, will go on strike after his transfer request was rejected.
When asked about his attitude, the Liverpool boss said: “To be honest, I have nothing to say about his attitude because since he has had a back problem he has obviously not been in training.
“I asked the medical department how he is doing and there are no complaints, so that is how it is. There is nothing bad to say about this.
“We are all not silly. We know it is a very difficult situation but there is nothing new to say.
“It is not always easy for me to say the 100 per cent truth – even though I don’t like to lie – but it is exactly how I say it because that is how it is in the moment, nothing else.”
Daniel Sturridge will be fit to face Palace after recovering from a thigh injury picked up in pre-season.