What crap? It was confirmed by the Echo aswell. 3 clubs have shown an interest.
PSG interested in Coutinho
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What crap? It was confirmed by the Echo aswell. 3 clubs have shown an interest.
OOOOH baby!
Something class????
Oh dear God no
Coutinho isn't world class, unless that definition is now - one of the best players on a midtable team.
He turns 24 next week. If he has the typical Brazilian AM career, the other side of 25 won't see him improve - it'll be a case of hoping he doesn't drop off too much.
So if there's silly money on the table I don't see how we turn it down
He turns 24 next week. If he has the typical Brazilian AM career, the other side of 25 won't see him improve - it'll be a case of hoping he doesn't drop off too much.
So if there's silly money on the table I don't see how we turn it down
No issue with any of that, but at the same time we know he suits us and we'd still have to make sure we replaced him well. I'd sooner keep the player if the offer isn't a very high one indeed.
And we have that luxury about when we make that decision with him being under contract for years to come. There-s zero pressure on us.
That said I always wondered whether the low wages he took was as a result of another term in the contract being very favourable - a low buyout clause.
That said I always wondered whether the low wages he took was as a result of another term in the contract being very favourable - a low buyout clause.
Suarez is Suarez class. The best player in the world class.
Looks simply like early summer Agent manoeuvres...... trying to give Barcelona the hurry up, given that there has been extensive contact between them, and plenty of public displays of affection.
The main challenge for us will be not whether he stays or goes, but whether he forces us to accept less money for him from someone he wants to join (Barca) versus the club who will pay the most for him (PSG).
The main challenge for us will be not whether he stays or goes, but whether he forces us to accept less money for him from someone he wants to join (Barca) versus the club who will pay the most for him (PSG).
Not arsed either way.
How would he get into Barca's team?
How would he get into Barca's team?
There are question marks over whether he's going to be able to make the step up that would elevate him towards David Silva's ability, for instance, but I don't think we should be looking to sell anyone this summer bar Benteke and anyone on loan we weren't planning to keep. We should be signing really good players who can come into the first team even if it's at the expense of people like Coutinho. We're weak in terms of depth for that attacking midfield slot - go beneath Lallana, Coutinho and Firmino (all of whom have question marks over them anyway) and you are left with players who aren't anywhere near established yet. We have fewer games next season so maybe we could cope with fewer players but if we sell coutinho because he's not ultimately going to be good (or great) enough then we'll have to sign two players for that position as opposed to one. The more players we sell, the more we have to sign, the more we have to deal with things like transition etc and we all know how that's worked out over the last few summers.
The core of the squad isn't good enough but it would provide continuity if augmented by four genuine top class players. If we can sign someone better than Coutinho this summer, great, but I'd rather do it whilst he's still at the club for continuity's sake. Plus the competition might actually spur him on. I just think we ought to be minimising the upheaval this summer so we can go into the new season avoiding the issue of having a largely new squad still getting to know each other.
The core of the squad isn't good enough but it would provide continuity if augmented by four genuine top class players. If we can sign someone better than Coutinho this summer, great, but I'd rather do it whilst he's still at the club for continuity's sake. Plus the competition might actually spur him on. I just think we ought to be minimising the upheaval this summer so we can go into the new season avoiding the issue of having a largely new squad still getting to know each other.
Iniesta is getting a bit old and he would probably have no problem replacing Rakitic
Apparently their scouting network earmarked him as one of their options as a potential successor to Iniesta.
Well that'd be a massive come down for them
Iniesta is top top tier.
Coutinho has yet to show anywhere near the level required to be his heir
As above, selling your best players may sound good on paper but in reality for us we always have egg on our faces.
I recall when Owen went on last day of the window, people were thinking (myself included) which Real Madrid player we could get in exchange. We ended up with Nunez.
I recall when Owen went on last day of the window, people were thinking (myself included) which Real Madrid player we could get in exchange. We ended up with Nunez.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
The thing is, Coutinho has some wonderful moments, but in my mind they normally come from bombastic long range strikes or slaloming towards the opposition penalty area - what doesn't immediately spring to mind is his ability to sit deep and dictate the tempo of play with his controlled midfield passing; but this is the Barca scouting network, so who knows best
Well said. The best scenario would be, like you said, for us to add 1-2 top-class talents in attack to replace Benteke and challenge Lallana and Coutinho. However, my point was that Coutinho – in his current role as a winger – is not so essential to our play that his loss would set us back significantly, like the losses of Xabi or Suarez did in the past. He was very much a central cog in the machine under Rodgers, but with Klopp I don't have the same sense. Phil has been playing in almost every game when fit based on talent and vast gulf in class between himself and his nearest competition for this position – but not necessarily because his game is perfectly suited to the system.
[For instance I think sometimes his tendency to cut inside and force a shot is detrimental to the kind of team-work and decision-making Klopp is trying to instill in his attacking players – he ignores other options because he has his mind set on doing one thing, and that discourages other players from making the runs and providing those other options. Contrast this to the way Reus has been playing at Dortmund – perfectly capable of the cut-inside-and-shoot thing, but always having his eyes open for a pass or a different option until the very moment he pulls the trigger. I think Klopp was hoping that Coutinho can become his Reus in Liverpool, but so far Coutinho doesn't seem to let himself be molded into changing his style too much. ]
So let's say PSG is serious, Coutinho's head gets turned and we end up selling him for £50M and buying Mane for £30M as a replacement (which is not guaranteed, btw – he can well choose another team who are playing in Europe or stay put). Will our attack suffer? Based on the stats, not so much. Coutinho produced 12 goals and 7 assists in all competitions last season – his most productive season for us yet. The season before was 8 and 6, respectively. Mane last season scored 15 and assisted 9, season before that 13 and 9. Of course, goals and assists don't tell the full story about a player's contribution – but if your role in the team is that of a goal-scoring winger, then those stats do actually matter. Coutinho is not doing much playmaking in Klopp's system, so he should be judged by his attacking contribution and on that front both he and Lallana leave a lot to be desired.
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Winner of the Jamie Redknapp Literally Award for June.
I'm actually not that bothered with him leaving but like others have said, who are we replacing him with?
Who can we convince to join a team that finished 8th in the league and is good enough to replace Coutinho?
Seems like next season is going to be all about climbing into the top 4.
Who can we convince to join a team that finished 8th in the league and is good enough to replace Coutinho?
Seems like next season is going to be all about climbing into the top 4.
I'd sell for the reported fee of 46m
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