Liverpool legend Graeme Souness believes that the Reds should have sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona this summer.
The Brazilian handed in a transfer request to join the Catalans this summer and Souness think that Coutinho’s actions could dampen the mood in the dressing room as some players will be unhappy by the fact that he tried to force through a move out of the club.
“Going forward, what sort of Coutinho is Jurgen Klopp going to have around the place?,” said Souness.
“There will be some players in the dressing-room who are not terribly happy with him and everyone will be keeping a close eye on him.
“Will he still be the same committed Coutinho from past seasons? Only he can answer that.”
Barcelona made offers worth £72m, £90m and a final late bid of £136m for Coutinho but every single one of them was rejected. Souness however said that he would have accepted any bid in excess of £100 million.
“I would have accepted an offer in excess of £100m for him.
“I know Paris Saint-Germain have paid £198m for Neymar and another £166m for Kylian Mbappe from Monaco, for his potential as an 18-year-old, but I would argue that for that sort of money they have to be gamechangers on a regular basis. I would have taken Barcelona’s offer.
“The problem is, once you take that money, everyone else, when you go shopping, wants you to pay a premium on the players you go for because they know you are sitting on all this dosh.
“Tottenham avoided that by doing their spending before selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for £85m in 2013, but they did not do it very well - only Christan Eriksen was a success.
“Usually, when you go to buy someone after a big sale, everyone knows you have that pile of cash and they will want some of it.”
Coutinho reportedly broke down in tears when he got the news that his dream move to Barcelona was blocked. It will be interesting to see how he reacts when the Premier League resumes after the international break. With the 2018 FIFA World Cup scheduled next year, rest assured that he will give his best for Liverpool or miss the trip to Russia next summer.
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