Jurgen Klopp had managed to fend away Barcelona’s interest for Philippe Coutinho up until now but if sources are to be believed then the Brazilian has himself handed over a transfer request to the club. According to the news that is doing the rounds, Coutinho immediately contacted the Liverpool owners after they issued an official statement on Friday claiming that Coutinho will not be sold. He has formally told the Fenway Sports Group – the owners of Liverpool, that he wishes to move out of the club.
This news comes after Liverpool have already rejected two of Barcelona’s bids, and the last one was rumoured to be in the region of €90 million. But now the Merseyside Reds seem to caught in a very tight situation after Coutinho’s current wish to vacate his locker room at Anfield.
The situation is much more complicated than it looks simply because Liverpool has dragged this transfer saga way too long for their own discomfort. If Coutinho was to leave the club, say within the next week, then Jurgen Klopp will have to bring in a replacement for the Brazilian with a fortnight – or else play the rest of the season with a gaping hole in the frontline. While Liverpool do have players who can fill up Coutinho’s positional hole on the pitch but Klopp surely does not have that same level of talent in his current squad.
And if Liverpool were to aggressively go after a replacement in these remaining transfer days then we are all but sure that they will have to largely overpay for the services of any player that the club target.
As of now though Liverpool has stuck to their claims and insist that they will not be negotiating any deals with Barcelona. But the big question is, how long can they fend off the Catalans?
