Liverpool assistant manager Peter Krawietz has spoken out on the “painful” exit of Philippe Coutinho, and delivered a worrying verdict on their search for a replacement.
Coutinho left Liverpool for Barcelona in January for a massive £142million, and the Reds did not sign anyone to replace him before the transfer window shut.
Krawietz has now admitted that the Brazilian’s departure was painful for the club but offered a fascinating insight into the thinking behind Jurgen Klopp’s decision to place faith in the rest of the squad.
In an interview with German outlet SPOX, he said: “His exit was very painful because we lost his quality and special style of play. So we had to ask ourselves: can the group deal with this? Can we respond in the right way to this sudden change? In the end we answered in the affirmative. Phil was a formative figure with us. It was a pity he left. Fortunately, we have managed to absorb his loss collectively.
“Of course you can tell if a player is happy or unhappy. When an association approaches a player and suggests things to him, that might force a situation that complicates things for his current employer. That’s not nice and distressing for everyone.”
Krawietz then went on to speak about the potential for the club to find a replacement this summer, with the German worryingly admitting that it may be hard for the Reds.
“We’ve already looked around, but when you do that, you notice relatively quickly, how much the prices since the Neymar transfer last summer exploded. Every club knew that there were now €222million left in Barcelona. This led to a few incredible stories and a spiral that you felt, for example, not only with us, but also in Dortmund,” he said.
OPINION
It is hugely interesting to hear an inside scoop on the way in which the team went about absorbing the loss of Coutinho, which must have hit very hard. The Brazilian was such an influential player for the Reds over last few seasons, and that continued right up until his exit was confirmed. Many believed that Coutinho’s exit would have a massively negative effect on Liverpool’s season, but in fact his departure seemed to have the opposite effect. The front three in particular have excelled together since his exit, with the goals flying in on a regular basis. The switch to a midfield three also seemed to help the Reds’ style of play, and in many ways Coutinho has been long forgotten in the red half of Merseyside. However, there will be a need to bring in another quality attacker this summer, and rumours of a deal for Nabil Fekir seem to fit the bill nicely.
