As for us missing out on the best period of his playing career – yes, he was a very good player in his 20's and I kind of wanted us to sign him then, but I think as a full package – leadership + playing ability, he's actually had the best years of his career here. As talented and versatile as he was in his 20's, he would not be in a conversation for a Liverpool great based on playing ability alone, even at his physical peak. That said, the all-time CL single-season assist record is an incredible achievement for a player and he did it in the LFC shirt.
One more thing I just remembered while writing this – do you remember 2017-18 season and what happened after we sold Coutinho? Everyone expected a drop in performance or at least a profound drop in creativity after one of our most talented players left and wasn't replaced like-for-like. Instead, the team jelled like never before and became objectively stronger, more balanced and more consistent – and who was the player stepping into the void and successfully replacing the £142 million man? Why, it's the 32-year-old "journeyman" (as he was sometimes referred to back then) James Milner, brought in for the whole of £0 and probably not even a bag of biscuits. That change – Milner for Coutinho – was when the playing model of Klopp's Liverpool truly solidified and came into its own, leading to 2+ years of unprecedented success. Now that I think about it, I think that was not a coincidence.
