Gulp.
According to Catalan paper Sport, Barcelona’s technical secretary Robert Fernandez is heading to Villarreal to specifically watch Liverpool’s Coutinho tonight.
We face the Spaniards in the Europa League this evening, with the semi-final providing various European scouts a chance to check out our best talent on the big stage.
Sport claim that Coutinho wants to play in Spain, but Liverpool are naturally desperate to keep hold of the playmaker whose technical ability ‘enchants’ those at the Nou Camp.
Coutinho is a certainty to start this evening, having been rested against Newcastle at the weekend. He’s been in stupendous form of late, reaching 12 goals in all competitions and providing a devilish creative impetus when we’ve needed it most.
He’s undeniably our best player, but unless he kicks up the kind of fuss Luis Suarez did, which doesn’t seem in his character, we can’t think of a bid we’d consider accepting.
Coutinho is tied to a long contract, meaning any transfer would surely have to involve a world record transfer fee.
We truly hope he’s with us for the long-term. He has a young family in Liverpool and is settled, and is noticeably improving under Jurgen Klopp.
He won’t get the adulation and hero status he does at Anfield at Barcelona, where he’d be an also-ran. Stay on Merseyside, Coutinho, and become a legend!