The Liverpool Echo are reporting on claims from France that their star man Phillipe Coutinho could be subject to a bid from Paris Saint Germain in January. Le 10 Sport claim that the Parisians made a £22 million bid for the Brazilian in January which was immediately rejected by the Merseyside club who have already ruled out selling their number ten at any price.
The only way that any such deal would go ahead would be if the player himself actively forced the move, something which seems unlikely given his reported happiness at the club and as one of the men who Klopp is building a side around. Having looked competitive in the opening weeks of the campaign, the result of this season may be vital in convincing Coutinho that his long term future lies at the club, but it seems hugely unlikely that he would be allowed to leave in January.
This reluctance to let go of key players is part of the club’s new transfer policy, as Jurgen Klopp told the Liverpool Echo about some aspects of the new set up after the failure of the transfer committee with Brendan Rodgers. The German revealed:
“I have to like the player we sign] in a specific way of course, they have to fit in a team, that’s how it is. We are so often, so long in the day together, it’s based on sense, you always think ‘oh my god what a footballer but please’. First of all it’s all about football skills, abilities, but it’s very complex. But at the end you have to accept you can never do what everybody wants, I learned that pretty quickly.”
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There has definitely been an improvement in recruitment over the summer, with the likes of Sadio Mane, Georgino Wijnaldum and Joel Matip immediately becoming first team regulars and having adapted quickly to life at Anfield.
One man who has missed out a result of these acquisitions amongst other problems is Mamadou Sakho. However, the defender has only gone and increased his popularity further by working with local charities to take a group of local families to Disneyland Paris. He said:
“We invited these families to spend an unforgettable weekend in Paris to make them forget their troubles for a while. We had dinner in an African restaurant which meant a lot to me. British people coming to France to eat African food is the exact illustration of the values we want to share. We wanted the children to have a good time and I think we achieved that. My wife and I really wanted to share this moment with them.”
The centre-back may not be getting much game time at the moment but he is certainly putting in the effort off the pitch.
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