Hang on a minute…
It seems an ex-Barcelona player has actually encouraged Coutinho to stay at Anfield and not move to sunny Spain!
Unbelievable scenes!
Legendary central midfielder Xavi, an all-time great in every sense of the word, has been discussing Liverpool’s no.10 amid rumours that his ex-club holds an interest.
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This season, Coutinho’s been mesmerising for Liverpool in the Premier League and put in similarly impressive performances for Brazil on the international stage.
Naturally, European giants are increasing their interest, but he’s contracted until 2020, has no release-clause and is happy on Merseyside.
“Coutinho is a player I have always thought is special – but under Klopp he has gone up another level,” Xavi told Goal. “On form there are not any better midfield players in Europe.
“He has always shown quality but now he is consistently playing well and that is good news for Liverpool if they want to really challenge for the title.
“He is playing under one of the most intelligent coaches in Europe. Klopp has a lot of experience at developing world-class players, so it is a good club for him to be at.
“When you play at the level he is there is always going to be talk, but for now he needs to ignore all that and stay focused, because I think Liverpool have a real chance this season,” he said.
Nice words indeed.
Coutinho starred for El Selecao over the international break, starting both matches and scoring a wonder-goal against Argentina.
At the time of writing, he’s being flown back to Europe on a chartered jet along with Roberto Firmino to give him extra preparation time for the Southampton clash on Saturday.
We really need both to be available, as Adam Lallana was injured for England and could miss the return to his old club.