Reds legend and former coach, Phil Thompson believes Philippe Coutinho will stay put at Anfield, despite Barcelona’s attempts to lure the Brazilian away. Barcelona wanted to sign the Brazilian to replace Neymar, who joined Paris Saint-Germain over the summer. The Catalan side made three big money offers to the club, with all of them being turned down by the Reds.
Despite handing a transfer request in an attempt to force through a move to Barcelona, the deal never materialised and Coutinho has since been with Liverpool and very much integral to Jurgen Klopp’s first-team plans. The playmaker missed the opening weeks of the 2017-18 season due to a back problem before Klopp reintegrated the South American into his starting line-up.
Coutinho has scored an impressive 10 goals and 7 assists in 13 starts in all competitions this season. His rich vein of form is likely to see Barcelona launch another audacious bid to sign him next month but Thompson thinks the South American midfielder won’t leave in January.
Picking his Premier League Team of the Season so far, Thompson told Sky Sports, as quoted by Daily Star:
“Philippe Coutinho is also in there and his form clearly hasn’t been hampered by the transfer speculation. You can’t knock his attitude and application. And I don’t think he will be going anywhere this January.”
Coutinho’s splendid form has been a big bonus for us, but Klopp will be aware of Barcelona’s interest in the midfielder.
The Brazilian has been our attacking lynchpin and led the team from the front with a hat-trick in the 7-0 demolition of Spartak Moscow in the Champions League, before adding a goal in the 4-0 rout of Bournemouth.
Coutinho is one of the top playmakers in England and it’s easy to understand why Klopp fought tooth and nail in the summer to keep him at Anfield. Let’s hope he continues to stay committed to us for a long time.
While Thompson hailed Coutinho, he also admitted that the impact of Mohamed Salah this season has been breathtaking.
He added: “Mohamed Salah has been absolutely incredible but Kevin De Bruyne has probably been the best player the Premier League so far this season.”
Glowing words from Phil and he’s absolutely spot on, to say the least. Let’s hope things go on the way they are (in terms of attack, of course) and we finish the season on a strong note.
https://youtu.be/uofs4YiCpYA
