Former Reds Midfielder Claims Liverpool Should Sell Philippe Coutinho to Free Up Transfer Budget
Former Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam has insisted he believes that the Reds should offload star man Philippe Coutinho in January in order to reinvest the funds elsewhere on the field.
The 25-year-old was subject to three major bids from Spanish giants Barcelona over the summer, with the highest reportedly reaching £110m.
However, the Merseysiders stood strong on their 'not for sale' stance, and continued to knock back offers from the Catalonians.
The current Primera Division table toppers have already made it know they will revisit their attempts of capturing the Brazil international during the January window, leading to the belief that more bids will be on the way.
However, it is likely that Liverpool will once again refuse to offload their attacking genius over the winter, with worries they may not be able to replace Coutinho with a similar skilled player. But ex-Red Adam believes the north-west club could well benefit from allowing one of their most prized assets to depart, and should use the money accrued to strengthen elsewhere.
“This is what happens when you’ve got one of the best players in the world”, the 31-year-old Scot told talkSPORT.
“It’s going to just see how long the Liverpool owners stay strong – can they afford to not let him go in the January window? I think if they’re nowhere near winning the league, he will go. The money they’re talking about - £120m - that’s a rebuilding job!
“That will buy them the four defenders and a goalkeeper they probably need.”
Liverpool's defensive frailties have again shown through this term, with the Merseysiders conceding 12 goals in their opening seven games in the Premier League - 10 more than joint league leaders Manchester City and Manchester United.
If the Reds did end up shipping Coutinho out to Barcelona in January, there would be an outcry from the Anfield faithful if boss Jurgen Klopp did not finally focus his transfer spending on the leaky defence.
