Last week, ex-Red Luis Suarez hailed Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho as one of the best players in the Premier League, and according to Reds legend Steven Gerrard, Suarez has always admired the Brazilian maestro.
When asked in early September to name his favourite Premier League player, Suarez told UEFA officials:
"My favourite player at the moment in the Premier League is [Liverpool attacker] Philippe Coutinho".
Discussing Suarez in his new autobiography, Gerrard noted:
"Before Luis Suarez left Liverpool’s training ground for the last time he [said: ‘Make sure you look after him [Coutinho]'. Luis singled out Philippe as our most special young talent. It echoed my own view".
Forget 'special young talent' - in the eyes of many fans and ex-Reds, Coutinho is Liverpool's best player, and was sorely missed against Manchester United on Saturday.
Liverpool barely created a decent chance all game, but Bournemouth wonder-goal aside, Coutinho's form is patchy this season, so there's no guarantee that he would've made the difference at Old Trafford.
That aside, Coutinho is obviously a better option on the left than Ings, and he almost certainly would've been a greater attacking threat.
To be fair to Ings, Rogers played him out of position, so he was sabotaged before a ball was even kicked.
One thing's for sure: Coutinho has little chance of winning anything under Rodgers, and like Suarez, he's too good a player to waste his career on a manager who prioritises pressing/tackling/running over creative endeavour.
Like Suarez, Coutinho - worth £40m according to the latest CIES football observatory figures - is destined to leave Anfield for bigger and better things, and like many top class Brazilians before him, he will probably end up at Barcelona within a couple of seasons.
When asked in early September to name his favourite Premier League player, Suarez told UEFA officials:
"My favourite player at the moment in the Premier League is [Liverpool attacker] Philippe Coutinho".
Discussing Suarez in his new autobiography, Gerrard noted:
"Before Luis Suarez left Liverpool’s training ground for the last time he [said: ‘Make sure you look after him [Coutinho]'. Luis singled out Philippe as our most special young talent. It echoed my own view".
Forget 'special young talent' - in the eyes of many fans and ex-Reds, Coutinho is Liverpool's best player, and was sorely missed against Manchester United on Saturday.
Liverpool barely created a decent chance all game, but Bournemouth wonder-goal aside, Coutinho's form is patchy this season, so there's no guarantee that he would've made the difference at Old Trafford.
That aside, Coutinho is obviously a better option on the left than Ings, and he almost certainly would've been a greater attacking threat.
To be fair to Ings, Rogers played him out of position, so he was sabotaged before a ball was even kicked.
One thing's for sure: Coutinho has little chance of winning anything under Rodgers, and like Suarez, he's too good a player to waste his career on a manager who prioritises pressing/tackling/running over creative endeavour.
Like Suarez, Coutinho - worth £40m according to the latest CIES football observatory figures - is destined to leave Anfield for bigger and better things, and like many top class Brazilians before him, he will probably end up at Barcelona within a couple of seasons.
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