Jurgen Klopp has ruled out a Liverpool swoop to re-sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona.
Coutinho, 27, has been linked with a stunning return to Anfield this summer with Italian news outlet Calcio Mercato previously claiming that the Reds have tabled a bid to sign the Brazil international on a two-year loan with the option to make it permanent for £88million.
However Klopp has rubbished that report, claiming that any link between Liverpool and Coutinho is purely speculation even though he is a fan of the Nou Camp attacker.
“In general, Phil Coutinho helps each team in the world, still – 100%,” Klopp told ESPN. “It’s not about that. I like Phil, I think he’s a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it’s not our year for that.
“It’s just not possible. As I said, having him would make each team better – us included – but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona.
“Or maybe he found it there. We have contact, but not that close contact that I know exactly how he is doing, but the rest is only newspaper talk and stuff like that.”
OPINION
If Liverpool want to sign themselves a top new player this summer, they should not be trying to re-sign Coutinho. Although the Brazilian is a great player and was superb during his time at Anfield, the Reds have improved without him in the side. Coutinho is also 27-years-old now and if anything, he has gone slightly backwards since joining Barcelona. Even though he was playing for the title-winning side last season, Coutinho was only involved in 16 goals in 54 appearances across all competitions, which would be a good return for an attacking player for most clubs – not with Barcelona though. Liverpool could do with a central attacking midfielder who can sit behind the front three and create opportunities for them. Coutinho can do that but Klopp clearly isn’t going to re-sign the Brazilian, so it is down to the Liverpool boss to look elsewhere in order to find what he needs.
