coutinho liverpool

PSG star admits trying to lure Coutinho away from Liverpool

Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva has admitted that he has tried to lure Liverpool Star Philippe Coutinho to the French capital.Manchester City are still firmly entrenched as title favorites for those betting on the Premier League, but Liverpool have been in fine form of late, as well. The Reds have won three straight matches in the Premier League, and they are also coming off of back-to-back wins in the Champions League over Maribor. Jurgen Klopp’s men currently sit fifth in the league on 22 points, just a point behind fourth-place Tottenham.

Star man Philippe Coutinho shined once again for the Reds in Saturday’s easy 3-0 thumping of Southampton, as he picked up a goal to put the game to bed in the second half.

Coutinho has endured something of a tumultuous season to this point, with transfer rumors and injuries having limited him to just 10 appearances in all competitions thus far. He has been in good form, however, as he has already bagged five goals along with four assists.

Coutinho reportedly pushed hard for a move to Barcelona over the summer, and the Catalan giants are still heavily favored to sign the player either during the January window or when the transfer window opens again next summer. However, Coutinho’s Brazil teammate, Thiago Silva, says that he has pushed the Liverpool midfielder to consider a move to Paris St. Germain instead.

When recently speaking to the French media, Silva said that he “speaks a lot” with Coutinho and current PSG teammate Neymar, and he added that he is hopeful that his club will make a strong move to sign Liverpool’s No. 10. While Silva offered the caveat that “the most important thing is for [Coutinho] to make the best decision for himself”, Silva did go on to say that he believes PSG would be the best fit for Coutinho.

Barcelona attempted a last-minute swoop for Coutinho last summer after essentially being forced to sell Neymar to Paris St. Germain. The Reds repeatedly rebuffed Barca’s overtures, but many expect Barcelona to come back with their most lucrative offer yet come January.

The notion that Coutinho will not be playing for Liverpool next season seems to be a near certainty at this point. The question is whether he will be playing for Barcelona or somewhere else. Liverpool may choose to do right by the player and sell him to his preferred destination, but if a team like PSG comes in with a bigger offer, the Reds may simply choose to sell to the highest bidder.

PSG reportedly have had interest in the Brazilian in the past, though there have been no concrete rumours on that front for quite sometime. While Silva obviously wants to play alongside as many of the world’s best players as he can, he certainly has no sway over whether the club will be willing to break the bank once again. The club already shelled out a record fee of almost £200 million to pry Neymar from Barca this past summer. In order to comply with FIFA’s financial fair play rules, it may be in PSG’s best interests to lay low on the transfer market for a while.

Still, the French giants would be a very real threat to Barcelona’s chances at plucking Coutinho out of England if they do show interest. Neymar and Coutinho have a well-known friendship, and both players have publicly stated that they would love to play with one another at the club level at some point. We know Neymar isn’t leaving Paris for quite a while, so luring Coutinho to France is the only realistic way to make that dream a reality.

Obviously, Liverpool are hopeful that Coutinho will remain in red at least through the rest of this season. The Reds are favorites to advance through the group stages in Champions League, and they have very real top-four aspirations in the Premier League, as well. Losing Coutinho midway through the campaign would certainly put a massive dent in both goals for the club.

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