Andres Iniesta Talks Up Liverpool Star as a 'Great Player' as Barcelona Pursuit Rumbles On

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has urged the club to make another move for Liverpool winger Philippe Coutinho when the transfer window reopens in January.

Despite several bids from the Spanish giants and a transfer request from Coutinho during the summer, Liverpool have so far hung onto their prised asset, though Barca are strongly expected to make a fresh bid for the Brazilian next month.

One member of their current squad who would apparently welcome Coutinho to the Camp Nou with open arms is midfielder Iniesta, who has again, it seems, tried to unsettle the Liverpool star by telling him he'd be welcome in Catalonia.

Speaking about Coutinho to Mundo Deportivo, Iniesta claimed: "I see him as a great player with a lot of talent who uses both feet, creates goals, combines very well and finds space between midfield and attack."

Though Iniesta is one player whose position could come under threat with the arrival of Coutinho, that has not put the former World Cup off the prospect of the deal, as he revealed: "He is a player with a profile quite like ours and would be a great signing if he finally arrives.

"I do not see him as my competition but as a lift for the club."

Iniesta has made seventeen appearances in all competitions for Barcelona this season, with the club six points clear at the top of La Liga ahead of Saturday's El Clasico with Real Madrid.