Not for the first time in recent years, Philippe Coutinho is being linked with a move to Barcelona.
Liverpool’s manager Jürgen Klopp has made it clear that he has no intention of selling the Brazilian but reports claiming the Spanish club are keen to bring him to the Camp Nou refuse to die down.
Although the vast majority of Liverpool supporters will want Coutinho to remain at Anfield, one of the club’s former strikers is more open to the idea of him leaving for Barca.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Dean Saunders explained that he believed Coutinho should be allowed to leave Merseyside if Liverpool receive a fee of £100m. Not only that, he also named three candidates to replace the 25-year-old – including Manchester United’s Juan Mata.
“For me, he’s replaceable,” Saunders explained. “You could sign Isco for £30million. He’s not going to get a game at Real Madrid.
“Juan Mata, Sigurdsson… there are players you could sign to replace Coutinho,” he added.
“I like Coutinho. The last game I watched he was brilliant but £100million? Once they knock on the door as a player he’s gone.”
As a few people have since pointed out on social media, there are several flaws with this. For a start, it’s difficult to imagine Real Madrid being willing to offload Isco for just £30m. Liverpool signing a player who has been an integral member of Manchester United’s first team squad for the last few seasons is even less likely.
