La Liga high-flyers Atletico Madrid are reportedly set to make a big-money offer for Liverpool attacker Philippe Coutinho.
Multiple reports in Spain and England today claim:
* Atletico are planning a bid for the Brazilian maestro during the January transfer window.
* The La Liga club could offer '£20m upwards' for Coutinho.
Most transfer rumours are tenuous at best, but this one takes the cake:
* Why exactly would Liverpool sell Coutinho - recently described by Brendan Rodgers as 'wonderful' and 'a joy to watch - after only one year?
* Why would Atletico even bother to make a bid when it's (arguably) obvious that it will be rejected?
Okay, £20m+ would represent a massive profit on Coutinho, but there's no guarantee that Liverpool would be able to find a player of similar quality/potential in such a short space of time.
Brendan Rodgers unearthed an absolute gem in Coutinho, and it would make no sense to just let him go after only a year. Indeed, the Reds are under no pressure to sell star players, so the only reason to sell would be to make a profit.
Well, with LFC's finances now well and truly under control, and debt levels at an nicely manageable level, there's no need to cash-in just yet. Additionally, if the Reds hang onto Coutinho for a couple more years, he'll probably be worth a hell of a lot more than £20m.
Would Coutinho even contemplate a move away from Anfield? No chance, IMO. He's in the enviable position of being a guaranteed starter at one of the world's most famous clubs, and I can't see him giving that up in January, even for Champions League football.
Of course, if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions league this season, speculation about Coutinho's future will inevitably intensify next summer, but for now, I can't see anything changing.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Multiple reports in Spain and England today claim:
* Atletico are planning a bid for the Brazilian maestro during the January transfer window.
* The La Liga club could offer '£20m upwards' for Coutinho.
Most transfer rumours are tenuous at best, but this one takes the cake:
* Why exactly would Liverpool sell Coutinho - recently described by Brendan Rodgers as 'wonderful' and 'a joy to watch - after only one year?
* Why would Atletico even bother to make a bid when it's (arguably) obvious that it will be rejected?
Okay, £20m+ would represent a massive profit on Coutinho, but there's no guarantee that Liverpool would be able to find a player of similar quality/potential in such a short space of time.
Brendan Rodgers unearthed an absolute gem in Coutinho, and it would make no sense to just let him go after only a year. Indeed, the Reds are under no pressure to sell star players, so the only reason to sell would be to make a profit.
Well, with LFC's finances now well and truly under control, and debt levels at an nicely manageable level, there's no need to cash-in just yet. Additionally, if the Reds hang onto Coutinho for a couple more years, he'll probably be worth a hell of a lot more than £20m.
Would Coutinho even contemplate a move away from Anfield? No chance, IMO. He's in the enviable position of being a guaranteed starter at one of the world's most famous clubs, and I can't see him giving that up in January, even for Champions League football.
Of course, if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions league this season, speculation about Coutinho's future will inevitably intensify next summer, but for now, I can't see anything changing.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
We wouldn't sell him, he's too valuable to us. I'm sure Rodgers will be looking to build the team around Coutinho for the next few years.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting rumour too:
ReplyDeleteBalotelli to Arsenal or LIVERPOOL for 12 million euros in January. Hmmmmm......
I don't think there's any chance or danger of him going. Coutinho is improving and this is the 1st time he has been an integral part of a team so I don't think he will jump ship. Either way LFC won't accept bids.
ReplyDeleteBeen a fine calendar year indeed so far :)
ReplyDeleteTell them to make a world record bid and then we will "CONSIDER".
ReplyDeleteA whole off season of silly transfer talk and they want to start again - its always London Manchester papers and, it's always Liverpool they try to unsettle - it never works - the one that actually did happen they said virtually nothing about because they knew it was a good thing for Liverpool reina going.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if Atleti will stump up that much as they are hardly rolling in the money, unless they get some third party contribution. Anyhoo, I don't see the club selling or at least they shouldn't, as he contributes in the short term and is young enough to contribute to the long term for a good while yet.
ReplyDeleteNo freakin way do I want that self-detonating hand grenade Bawlotelli on this team. He isn't nearly as good as all the hype surrounding him. He was, at best, the number four striker at City behind Aguero, Tevez and Dezko. And I really think he's clinically schizophrenic. Arsenal can have him. Maybe his antics would douse their fire when we need it after January.
ReplyDeleteThe only place Balotelli needs to go next is to a anger management consultant.
ReplyDeleteWho the hell would thumb down my comment!? It's just an interesting rumour. Never said it was fact.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, we really need another player like Coutinho, because competition is key for players to perform at their highest level, with some exceptions of course, like our number 7.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Suso is the player to rival Coutinho for a place in the team come next season.
Nobody should be guaranteed a place in the team, it has to earned through performances and desire.
Sad to say Henderson was dog awful yesterday. He contributed nothing to the team except an extra man defending. Passing was abysmal, creativity was non existent, going forward nothing. He is a trier for sure, but he always plays the most simple ball and yesterday he didn't take any responsibility going forward. He creates imbalance in the midfield through his play it safe approach, as Lucas is the holding midfielder. A player on the wings needs to beat people, put the defenders on edge, overlap, make runs etc. The left back of Sunderland had an easy time keeping tabs on him as he is overly static, stops the ball, plays it back. Moses, Enrique, Sturridge and Suarez showed inventiveness going forward, took risks and put Sunderlands team under pressure. We won a hard game against an up for it team Sunderland, but were gifted goals by really poor defending. Against tougher teams it won't be so easy and you need wingers to make space for Suarez and Sturridge by beating players, not doing basic passing drills and easily defended crosses. Every player needs to contribute towards attacking, creating as many chances as possible, especially away to a team who gets men behind the ball. holding play up only always teams like this to regroup.
ReplyDeleteWhile I doubt that there is much substance to this article, I have to say that I wouldn't be too sad to see Coutinho leave if it meant that he were being replaced with the skills of someone like Ozil, or Hamsik.
ReplyDeleteNot that I don't think he'll be as good, just it will probably take a couple of years - replacing him with someone better would be like fast forwarding through time.
He's a notch or 2 away from being at the top, had a good start last year, if first few games this year left more to be desired. Never know, he might come back in great form. He'll definitely be welcomed back.