Catalan media outlets have never given up the stance that Barcelona have hope of signing Philippe Coutinho, and Jurgen Klopp has provided them with further ammunition it seems.
The Brazilian playmaker was heavily linked with a move to the Catalan giants this past summer, with Sport reporting that they made a final €150m bid prior to the transfer deadline.
Ultimately, they failed to prise him away from Anfield as he remains with Liverpool and has reintegrated into the team despite handing in a transfer request to push for an exit.
While it seems as though he’s now settled again and prepared to stay on Merseyside having played a pivotal role in the 7-0 win over Maribor in midweek too, Klopp didn’t do a great job of dismissing the possibility of a January sale, as seen in his comments below.
“I’ve no clue. We will see. We don’t talk about things like this,” said Klopp on Saturday, as noted by Mundo Deportivo. “Can you imagine what it would be like if I said ‘yes we have an agreement’?
“In this moment, the 100 per cent truth is that nobody thinks about this. We don’t talk about it, why should we? In both cases it would not make sense – no, there is no agreement, yes, there is an agreement. It is not important in the moment. We have other moments when we have to talk about these things but not in October.”
Mundo Deportivo have interpreted that as an admission that the German tactician no longer rules out the possibility of Coutinho leaving for Barcelona in January, and in fairness, having “no clue” over the situation isn’t a particular reassuring stance as far as Liverpool are concerned.
They’re not the only media outlet to take that view of the comments either, as Sport have also reported on how Klopp has ‘opened the door to sell Coutinho in January’.
It’s unlikely that was his intention, but the Liverpool boss has seemingly given Barcelona fresh hope and optimism that a deal can be done. However, it remains to be seen if an agreement between the two clubs can be reached on a transfer fee, as ultimately that’s what was missing last time and nothing appears to have definitively changed on that front.