With Barcelona looking to offload all but a handful of their star players if an offer comes in that’s acceptable, record signing, Philippe Coutinho, could potentially be on his way back to Liverpool – but only if he apologises.
That’s the view of former Aston Villa star, Gabby Agbonlahor, who believes that the Brazilian is one of only a few players that could improve the current Liverpool set up.
“For me, I’d go out there and get Coutinho back,” Agbonlahor told Stadium Astro and cited by the Daily Star.
“I’d probably say, ‘you have to apologise for the way you left, but come back’.
“For me, he is what Liverpool are missing in there. You can even play Coutinho where [Roberto] Firmino plays if Firmino isn’t doing it. The way Firmino plays, it looks like he is just told by [Sadio] Mane and [Mohamed] Salah. ‘we are having the shots’.
“So, if you went in and bought an [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang, I think that could upset the way Liverpool play because Salah and Mane wouldn’t get as many shots because Firmino is very unselfish.
“Coutinho needs to be the main man in the team, and at Liverpool, he would be. I think he would do a great job at Liverpool and the fans would forgive him and have him back.”
Given that the Reds didn’t go after Timo Werner from RB Leipzig because they are not willing to spend “crazy money,” according to an interview that Jurgen Klopp conducted with the Liverpool Echo and cited by Sky Sports, it seems odd that they would be linked with a player for whom Barcelona apparently want at least £105 according to the Daily Star.
However, perhaps a loan deal similar to the one that the Catalans agreed to with Bayern Munich could be arranged.
It’s clear that Coutinho has no future at the Camp Nou, so a move anywhere would be likely to appeal, with one to the current Premier League title holders surely top of the list.