Liverpool could still sell Philippe Coutinho in January

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has reportedly expressed his desire to leave the club in January, reiterating his yearning to move to Spanish giants Barcelona.

The 25 year old Brazilian was the subject of three bids from the Catalan club in the summer transfer window, including a ‘final bid’ of well over £100m. Although Barcelona did sign Ousmane Dembele for a club record fee in the same period, Ernesto Valverde and the board are still keen to bring Coutinho in to fill the void left by Neymar’s departure to PSG.

Coutinho returned to Liverpool’s starting eleven in the Reds disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Burnley. Last Saturday, Coutinho featured once again in their 3-2 away win at Leicester, winning the man of the match with a superb goal directly from a free-kick.

When asked about the fans reaction to Coutinho playing, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “It says a lot about the relationship between our supporters and Phil.

“Maybe we don’t always agree in each moment like people are, but when we have a short minute to think then we remember we are family. That’s how they reacted and I really loved it.

“That helped Phil a lot so he can play football, concentrate on football and he can perform.”

Regardless, Catalan newspaper Sport have claimed that the Reds are weighing up the decision to move Coutinho on in January at the earliest. They claim that Coutinho has once again expressed his desire to leave the club following talks between his representatives and Fenway Sports Group.

Liverpool’s early title challenge appears to have fizzled out slightly after multiple hiccups in previous weeks. This potentially affects a possible deal as FSG would reportedly be “much more receptive to negotiating” if Liverpool are out of the Premier League title picture.

The Brazilian would be ineligible to play in the Champions League should he join Barcelona having played against Sevilla for Liverpool. Nonetheless, this shouldn’t affect any prospect of a deal being brokered.