Jamie Redknapp: “Keep Philippe Coutinho & bringing in Virgil van Dijk from Southampton are 2 things Which Could Make Liverpool Into Title Contenders
“Keep Coutinho, get Van Dijk. That’s a title bid right there,” Redknapp told the Daily Mail as he previewed the imminent 2017/18 campaign.
“The Liverpool players I talk to call him ‘the little genius’,” he added of the Brazilian.
Never far away over the last 12 months, Barcelona have now suddenly been very heavily linked with a move for Coutinho since Neymar’s recent exit to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Catalan press has claimed once already, prematurely, that a deal has been agreed, but Livepool manager Jurgen Klopp continues to insist the player is not for sale.
“I am nervous about [Liverpool] because of Coutinho,” Redknapp continued. “We don’t want him to go, not just because of the club but because of the league. He’s a talisman, a superstar.”
If Coutinho does go, though, the pundit feels Everton’s expected £50m move for Gylfi Sigurdsson across Stanley Park at Goodison should dictate the price.
“If Sigurdsson is £50m, then Liverpool can’t sell Coutinho for £100m,” Redknapp claimed. “He’s got to be worth more than that. They can’t allow Barcelona to bully them into this. We are at a crucial point, not just for Liverpool, but for the league. They have to resist. They have to.”
