Why Liverpool are right to sell Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January

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Philippe Coutinho is closing in on his long-awaited move to Barcelona from Liverpool in a deal worth £142 million, according to BBC Sport. The Brazilian international was desperate to move to the Catalan club during the summer, but a transfer couldn’t be agreed between the two clubs.

As the months have passed since, it seemed inevitable that he would eventually move to the Nou Camp and it is a positive that the saga is now reaching its climax. The 25-year-old will sign a five-and-a-half-year deal with Barcelona with a buyout clause set at £355 million.

Liverpool fans will be feeling disappointed that their team are losing a very talented player, but taking everything into consideration, this could turn out to be a great piece of business. They signed Coutinho for £8.5 million in January 2013 and he helped them grow back into a Champions League club.

The eye-watering profit shows why the board have agreed to the transfer, but for it to be great business, they must spend the money wisely.

How big of a loss will Coutinho be for this Liverpool side?

The Brazilian international may be joining Barcelona for a larger fee than the one paid for Luis Suarez in 2014, but this sale will be easier to recover from for Liverpool. They showed that they didn’t need him in August as they beat top-six rivals Arsenal by a huge 4-0 score line in his absence.

There is no doubting that Coutinho is a fantastic player and has established himself as one of the best in the Premier League during the last 18 months. However, Jurgen Klopp hasn’t built the side around the midfielder and it may have been for this very reason. There was always a chance that he would leave and the test is now how they can regenerate using the finances brought in.

A quick look at Coutinho’s stats from this season show that he remained committed to the cause and it is difficult not to be impressed by them. Across the Champions League and Premier League, he contributed 12 goals and eight assists, with a goal involvement every 73.2 minutes.

Barcelona will be hoping that he can maintain that level in Spain, but Liverpool can easily compete without his contribution.

Goals haven’t been a problem for Liverpool this season, as they have averaged 2.6 goals in the two major competitions. Coutinho played his part in that, but they have three other excellent attackers in the squad.

Sadio Mane (102.2 minutes), Roberto Firmino (91.5 minutes) and Mohamed Salah (74.4 minutes) all have a worse goal involvement than the outgoing Brazilian across the two major competitions. However, with all three in the team, the Reds won’t struggle for goals and the money brought in needs to be spent on the problem areas in the squad.

It will be interesting to see who steps up to fill the creative void. Coutinho was averaging 3.24 chances created in the Premier League this season. He was the most creative Liverpool player by some distance.

The return of Adam Lallana may have nudged the club into selling as he could be the short-term solution to take up the advanced midfield role. He would be the first to admit that he isn’t as good as the player leaving the club, but he is a consistent performer and he will offer a lot more defensively.

The simple solution would be to buy a like-for-like replacement, but the money should be spent on the problem areas and the attack isn’t one of them.

Riyad Mahrez and Thomas Lemar have been linked in recent days. Both are very good players, but they would cost a lot of money and would still represent a downgrade.

If the club spend it on the defence, they can end January with a better team than they started the month with.

How should they spend the money?

The signing of Virgil van Dijk has already been completed and he has gone some way to improving the defence, but more investment is needed in this area. Although Joel Matip is an accomplished centre-back, he does make too many errors to start in a team with ambition of winning major honours.

Manuel Akanji has been linked with the club and he is thought to be one of the brightest talents in Europe. It would be difficult to sign another top centre-back in this window for a reasonable fee, but the Basel defender would be a shrewd purchase.

A position that could be strengthened during this window is goalkeeper, as Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius have both proven themselves to be short of quality for Liverpool.

Stoke City’s Jack Butland and Roma’s Alisson have been talked about as potential targets. Either would represent an upgrade. If a quality goalkeeper is brought in before January, the Reds’ chances of challenging for trophies this season will significantly increase.

Emre Can is likely to follow Coutinho out of the door in the summer and that will leave Liverpool short in central midfield. This money could be used to bring in a quality option there. The one profile they are currently missing is a ball-winning midfielder that enjoys sitting deep and anchoring the midfield.

Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho has long been linked to the Premier League and he is a player that would benefit from working under Jurgen Klopp. With Naby Keita arriving in the summer, a player like the Portuguese midfielder would be a great complement in the middle of the park.

Tottenham and Liverpool have both shown how not to spend money gained through the sale of a big player in the past. The Reds must learn from those mistakes and make sure they distribute the money across the right positions.

The defence and central midfield positions need to be the priority. This is an opportunity to shape the squad in a way that Klopp prefers and a like-for-like replacement for Coutinho would be a waste.

At the time of writing, the sale isn’t as devastating as some are making out. The Reds can emerge from January with a better team if the money is spent well.