Philippe Coutinho’s loss is a trauma that most Liverpool fans are yet to overcome. Although all the signs pointed to a potential exit last year, most of us hoped he would change his mind. But as the January window arrived, he decided to move to La Liga giants Barcelona.
To be honest, his departure has created a massive void in our attacking department. A creative midfielder by trade, Coutinho could slot into a variety of attacking roles but he thrived in the role of an attacking midfielder. In fact, he is easily one of the most creative players in modern-day football.
In his absence, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had managed to make room for himself in the midfield. He might not be as prolific as Coutinho but he did the job well.
However, he is now out indefinitely with an injury but regardless, it is important for Jurgen Klopp to sign a creative midfielder this summer.
Speaking in an interview with The Mirror, our gaffer spoke about Liverpool’s summer plans. As quoted by Daily Mail, Klopp said:
“We brought in Naby Keita already, an outstanding player. We will bring in a couple more players, that will happen. But we had the quality of players already to finish the season higher.
“Can you imagine Phil Coutinho still in the team? And we play with the three up front (Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah) and Phil at No 8 – that would have been nice.”
He then went on to praise the team’s mentality for having come so far into the Champions League final this season. What we do in the summer window will be important but for now, it is important for us to focus on beating Real Madrid to prevent them from lifting the scintillating trophy for the 3rd consecutive time.
Once again, a lot will depend on our attacking trio of Mane, Firmino and Salah but like Klopp mentioned, having a player like Coutinho in the mix could have significantly boosted our chances.
