Coutinho replacement no longer necessary, claims Klopp

Jurgen Klopp has insisted Liverpool do not need to sign a direct replacement for Philippe Coutinho before the transfer deadline.

Coutinho joined Barcelona in January after scoring 54 goals in 201 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool in five years at the club.

The Merseysiders have already done plenty of business this summer, bringing in midfielders Naby Keita and Fabinho, goalkeeper Alisson and winger Xherdan Shaqiri.

A move for Lyon playmaker Nabil Fekir – a potential replacement for Coutinho – fell through earlier in the window.

But Klopp claims there is no necessity for Liverpool to buy another Coutinho, primarily because he is impossible to replace.

“You cannot replace Phil Coutinho with exactly the same kind of player,” said Klopp, according to Sky Sports. “He’s Phil Coutinho. He has a specific style of play, tactically an outstanding player, can play as the winger, the ’10’, the ‘8’ – really great.

“I don’t want to put one of my players in the position where people will now say constantly ‘he’s the Phil replacement’.”

Coutinho’s influence

Coutinho scored 12 goals in 20 appearances for Liverpool in the first half of the 2017/18 campaign before leaving for Barcelona in January.

Despite the loss of the Brazilian’s influence, the Reds still managed to finish fourth in the Premier League and reach the Champions League final, which they lost to Real Madrid.

In the second half of the season, Coutinho scored 10 goals in 22 games for Barcelona as the Spanish giants sealed the La Liga title and won the Copa del Rey.

Klopp added: “I think the biggest thing we did in the second half of last season was that we didn’t need to speak too much about Phil. That wasn’t clear in January. How could we have known that?

“If we had still had Phil then we could have played with Phil in the final. Mo (Salah) goes out [injured], but Phil still there. Phil on the left wing, bring Sadio (Mane) to the other side, bring a midfielder on – it’s a different story. It would have been nice but he wasn’t here any more. We wish him well.

“We don’t need to replace Phil. We need to make a squad for the next year. Out there on the market, there isn’t a Phil Coutinho light. It’s not there. But there are a lot of good players and we have brought a few of them in.”

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