Philippe Coutinho has become one of the key players for Liverpool in the last couple of years. He has been able to provide solace to a team that lost Luis Suarez, easily one of the best Liverpool players in the last decade, back in 2014. Suarez was prized away by Barcelona for around £75 million and it appears that the Catalan club are seeking another Liverpool star. Spanish tabloid Sport claims that Philippe Coutinho has been made as a primary transfer target for Barcelona and that the club are in advanced negotiations with the player over a potential move in the summer.

Barcelona seem concerned with the status of Lionel Messi, who is yet to sign a new contract with the club. The superstar is out of contract in the summer of 2018, and his camp has been rather quiet about the situation. There are suggestions that Messi could be looking at a new challenge after having spent his entire career at Barcelona. At 29 years of age, this may be the time for Messi to move. Replacing the Argentine will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination, but Barcelona have seen a lot of similarities between Coutinho and Messi.

Coutinho was signed from Inter Milan for just around £8.5 million, but he has become one of the best players in the Premier League in a short span of time. He has been able to apply an end product to the dribbling skills, and this has made him a contender for the PFA Player of the Year title in the last couple of years. Coutinho signed a new contract with Liverpool only a few months ago. Yet, he is just being paid around £150,000 per week – a far lower figure than what top players like Gareth Bale, Neymar, or even Luis Suarez make each week.

However, Jurgen Klopp seems unconcerned by the rumours and insisted that the Brazilian will stay at the club beyond this summer. Klopp was quoted by the Daily Mirror saying;

“I am not concerned because I think Phil fits really well here and is comfortable here.

“I think it is actually positive when there is interest. It shows it’s good.

“Phil had a difficult time with injury, coming back fighting for his shape, and I would say that’s normal.

“In the last three games, you can see immediately, when he is in a little bit of shape, how big the difference is he can have in a game.

“That’s wonderful for us. But I am not concerned (about Barcelona) actually, because we give the boys enough perspective that they really want to be part of this for the next few years.”

The Kop Times Verdict

As long as Liverpool are hurt by a salary cap, other clubs will keep making an approach for the player. Players have an extremely short career and they are always keen to make the most out of it. The presence of Neymar is a huge bonus in Barcelona’s attempts to sign Coutinho. The duo are teammates in the Brazilian national team and are known to share a great relationship.

If Barcelona are unsuccessful in their attempts to sign Coutinho, they may very well turn their attention towards the likes of Paulo Dybala of Juventus.

Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin and Paris St Germain midfielder Marco Verratti are also seen as transfer targets for the Catalan club. However, Liverpool will be hoping to keep Coutinho at all costs.