Liverpool FC Thread #150 :- Farewell Philippe Coutinho

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Liverpool have reportedly been given encouragement they can sign Naby Keita this month – provided they pay RB Leipzig a premium of at least £13million.

The Reds agreed last August a deal in excess of £50m that would see Keita spend another season in the Bundesliga before moving to Anfield in the summer.

However, Jurgen Klopp has been exploring the possibility of moving forward the Guinea international midfielder's arrival to this transfer window following the £142m departure of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

Leipzig have been resistant to that suggestion given they are challenging for Champions League qualification and are preparing for the Europa League knockout stages.

But according to German news outlet Bild, the Bundesliga side are now softening their stance.

The report states Leipzig would consider allowing Keita to leave this month for a fee of between 15m and 20m euros (£13m-£17.5m).

It suggests Leipzig need to generate extra revenue in order to not fall foul of UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules.

Only last week, Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff played down claims Keita could leave.

"Neither Naby nor his agent have made the request to leave the club in the winter," he said.

Keita, though, has been criticised recently for his performances, with the Bild report stating he is now being distanced by his Leipzig team-mates.

Keita would be cup-tied for the Champions League but would be free to play in both the Premier League and FA Cup.

[NI KI]

Liverpool are keen to ensure that Harry Wilson and Ovie Ejaria both sign new deals before sending them out on loan this month.

The Academy duo have been stalling over the contract extensions offered to them as they consider their options.

However, the Reds want both Wilson and Ejaria to put pen to paper before sanctioning temporary moves away until the end of the season.

Neither player has made the matchday squad under Jurgen Klopp so far this term and they are keen to gain first-team experience elsewhere rather than continue to feature for Liverpool Under-23s between now and May. A number of Championship clubs have registered their interest.



Wilson, who missed the start of the season due to an Achilles injury, hasn’t featured for the senior side since being handed his debut in the FA Cup tie against Plymouth a year ago.

The 20-year-old Wales international winger, who has been a prolific goal scorer for Neil Critchley’s under-23s, previously had a loan spell at Crewe.



Ejaria enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2016/17 as he clocked up eight first-team appearances for the Reds and earned rave reviews from Klopp after catching his eye on a warm weather training camp in Tenerife.

However, the London-born 20-year-old midfielder missed most of the second half of last season with an ankle injury and hasn’t been able to force his way back into the manager’s plans since.

Rather than training at Melwood, Ejaria has found himself based with the under-23s at the Kirkby Academy.

[NI KI]

Liverpool continue to be linked with a move for Real Madrid midfield Dani Ceballos – but could end up being disappointed.

Ceballos is said to have held talks with Bernabeu officials in a hotel this week over his future at the club.

The 21-year-old only arrived at the Spanish giants from Real Madrid last summer for a fee in the region of £15million.

But Ceballos has struggled for game time and has featured in just six La Liga games this season – playing for just 31 minutes since October.

And having failed to make the last two Real squads, the player has, according to Diario Gol, has informed the club of his desire to leave.

The report suggests Ceballos is being courted by several European clubs, including Liverpool.

However, it is also stated Real boss Zinedine Zidane does not want to lose the player during the January transfer window.

Previous reports have said the player would like a move to Liverpool because he wants to work under Jurgen Klopp.

However, Betis are favourites to re-sign the player but, due to Spanish player registration laws, can only make the move at the end of this season.

[NI KI]

The shopping lists have been compiled, the markets scoured, the video clips thoroughly and vigorously assessed.

With Philippe Coutinho having departed for Barcelona to the tune of £142million, Liverpool supporters have wasted no time in eagerly suggesting a raft of possible replacements for the Brazilian.

Jurgen Klopp, meanwhile, is taking stock, pondering his options as his team begins life without the talismanic playmaker.

That Liverpool have not immediately moved to make a new signing during the January transfer window has not passed unnoticed from certain twitchy sections of the fanbase, mindful no doubt of how, 12 months ago, the season was threatened by a failure to plug an obvious hole.

The Reds are monitoring several players, of course.

But the seeming lack of movement has prompted discussion Klopp believes his squad is capable of absorbing the loss of Coutinho, at least until the end of the season.

There's sound logic behind this.

Coutinho primarily operated in two positions, on the left of the forward three or, as was more customary this campaign, the attacking tip of a midfield triumvirate.

Liverpool have players who can and indeed have accommodated such roles this season, summer signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and the fit-again Adam Lallana the most obvious candidates.

Klopp has consistently shown he will only sign players he believes are best suited to his requirements and, as with Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita, is prepared to wait for the right man.

In that respect, Coutinho's loss, while damaging, is not potentially terminal.

The same, though, perhaps cannot be said for the compatriot he has left behind.



When Roberto Firmino first arrived at Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers in the summer of 2015, it prompted much head-scratching.

Where exactly was his best position?

There's no such debate now, with Firmino a fully-fledged number nine in terms of role and squad number, one of the first names on Klopp's teamsheet.

The forward's numbers are impressive. With 16 goals and eight assists in 30 appearances this season, he is averaging one of those every 142 minutes.

For comparison, Mohamed Salah has a goal or assist every 98 minutes, with the departed Coutinho on 126 minutes and Sadio Mane 200 minutes.

But such statistics don't convey Firmino's overall contribution and why he is so well suited to Klopp's high-energy approach, dovetailing perfectly with the rest of Liverpool's attacking talent.

If Firmino is unavailable, yes, there are options.

However, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke are all strikers in the more traditional mould.

When Sturridge and Solanke have come in, tactics have been tweaked accordingly. Results have, by and large, been decent, but performances nothing like as devastating as when Firmino is in situ.

Had it been he and not Coutinho leaving Anfield, there wouldn't have been the same public anguish from supporters nor anything like the same money exchanging hands.

But with his compatriot gone, there's little doubt Firmino is now the one player Liverpool cannot afford to be without for any length of time this season.

[elimmel]

Bobby really embodies Klopp’s vision of pressing from the front.
My favourite player in the team

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Originally Posted by elimmel

Bobby really embodies Klopp’s vision of pressing from the front.
My favourite player in the team

he literally draw defenders/players away so that his team mates have more space to attack n score goals. I really love his pressing from the front too

[NI KI]

Adam Lallana is the 'shark' that senses the perfect moment for Liverpool to pounce on their opponents and win possession high up the pitch to launch attacks.

In a new series on Liverpoolfc.com, Joe Gomez talks us through the individuals that have helped to make Jürgen Klopp’s side one of the most prolific in the Premier League and Europe.

We start with Lallana and get a better understanding of why the England international – back after a long-term thigh injury – is so often described as the player who ‘sets the press’…

“He always gets it right. That doesn’t just mean running, it’s timing,” explains Gomez, a teammate of the midfielder since the summer of 2015.

“He senses it; like a shark when they see blood, they attack. He sees when there’s an iffy pass or the weight of pass is off or someone has a dodgy touch, he is going to punish you quickly.

“Even if he doesn’t win the ball, he is creating the possibility for someone else to just from his press. That’s massive with the style of play the manager wants. He is so important.”

Lallana’s supply of energy allows the 29-year-old to constantly harass opposition players across 90 minutes and, so often, turn seeming lull moments into sudden scoring opportunities for the Reds.

He is a pest to defenders, a figure who frightens the other side when they are on the ball.

And Gomez should know: he faces the very same challenge in training.

“It’s because he’s so good at it. It’s not just pressing and you can shift it and go – because he will trap you,” the No.12 explains, with a knowing sigh.

“It’s frustrating because you’re always wary, he’s going to come. When we do 11v11s you can’t mess about with the ball because he’ll punish you. That’s what he does best and he starts it for us.”

Lallana enjoyed his finest campaign for Liverpool to date last term, contributing eight goals in the successful pursuit of a top-four finish and Champions League qualification.

His momentum was stalled in the summer, however. A thigh injury sustained in the penultimate game of the pre-season schedule sidelined the attacker until a substitute appearance in November, which was followed by a minor setback.

But 2018 began with the Englishman back in the starting XI. “Outstanding,” said Klopp after his 86-minute outing in the 2-1 win at Burnley on New Year’s Day.

Gomez admits the return of his teammate’s fluid style of football – one that he believes puts Lallana among the elite of the game in this country – is a cause for celebration.

“He brings so much. He is one of the best players in the Premier League in his position and what he does,” adds the defender.

“I don’t think many people have got his natural ability with his right and left foot and the way he manipulates the ball.

“Everyone knows he has got the Cruyff [turn] and the way he moves the ball, but he is so intelligent with it. He can shift it and go whichever way he wants, dribble with his left or right. It’s natural ability.

“Everyone knows how infectious [his pressing] is. That’s something we have missed.

“He is massive for the team. What he did last season was phenomenal. We have been unlucky not to have him so far this season but everyone is buzzing that he is back.”

[NI KI]

Liverpool U23s midfielder Matty Virtue has joined Notts County on loan until the end of the season.

The 20-year-old has been in excellent form for Neil Critchley’s side in 2017-18 and will aim to continue his development during the spell with the League Two club.

Virtue joined the Reds at U11 level and has since progressed through the ranks at the Academy, as well as joining the first team in training at Melwood.

Notts County are currently second in League Two, four points behind leaders Luton Town, and travel to Lincoln City for their next fixture on Saturday.

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Liverpool FC can confirm that Cameron Brannagan has today signed for Oxford United in a permanent transfer.

The 21-year-old midfielder, who joined the Reds at the age of five, completed the formalities of his switch to the League One club on Thursday.

Brannagan leaves Anfield having made nine first-team appearances for the club. He spent the second half of the 2016-17 campaign on loan with Fleetwood Town, before returning to Liverpool and a place in Neil Critchley’s U23s squad this term.

Everyone at Liverpool FC wishes Cameron all the best for the future.

[NI KI]

Liverpool's FA Cup fourth-round tie with West Bromwich Albion at Anfield will take place on Saturday January 27.

The fixture has been selected for live coverage by BT Sport and is scheduled to kick-off at 7.45pm GMT.