This would make sense for all parties.
According to reports, Philippe Coutinho “believes he has played his last game for Liverpool” and he is quietly confident that his move to Barcelona will be completed this month. The same reports claim that Liverpool, while they don’t want to lose the Brazilian, will consider selling him if the Catalan club make an offer of around £133m (€150m).
They don’t want a repeat of last summer, when Barcelona submitted three bids and had them all rejected. The final bid was worth a potential £118m, but £36m of that would only have been triggered if Coutinho reached certain milestones, such as winning the Ballon d’Or. Apparently, it will take “an improved overall offer, and a more realistic package, to start a conversation with Liverpool.”
In other words, the ball in this immensely tedious transfer saga is firmly in Barcelona’s court.
Liverpool don’t want to sell the player and they don’t have to sell him. But, if Barcelona stop messing around, and make them an offer that reflects the lunacy of the market at the moment, they will consider it before making a decision. What happens from this point on will seemingly be dictated by Liverpool, who won’t go against the wishes of Jurgen Klopp.
https://twitter.com/_ChrisBascombe/status/948539730299441152
Unsurprisingly, the 25-year-old missed the 2-1 win over Burnley on New Year’s Day, and is due to miss Friday’s FA Cup tie with Everton with a “thigh injury.” Coutinho has yet to play a minute of first-team action this season while the transfer window has been open.
So, that’s the state of play in this transfer saga, which has once again become a distraction for Klopp’s team, who are otherwise having a positive season, one or two blips on pitch aside. Jamie Carragher has a solution to the situation, and it is one that will require compromise from all parties, but also makes sense and is the most realistic outcome.
The former Liverpool defender said the Merseyside club should agree to a massive transfer fee for Coutinho to leave in the summer – the way they agreed a transfer with Naby Keita to join in the summer, after having several bids rejected by RB Leipzig before the season started.
Carragher also said that it would make no sense for the club to sell him now, and risk their progress in the league and in Europe. While Coutinho won’t go on “strike” and damage his own standing if a move doesn’t materialise this month, or risk his place in the Brazil team at the World Cup.
Best thing @LFC is agree the BIG fee for Coutinho to go in the summer like we’ve done with Keita, not now. What do the club gain by doing it now? Top 4 & CL progression seriously risked if they sell in Jan, & difficult to replace him now. If he goes on strike he damages himself.
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) January 3, 2018
