Philippe Coutinho: Liverpool legend John Aldridge does not want Klopp to spend too much on Brazilian
What's the story?
Philippe Coutinho has been linked to a return to Merseyside after a tough season at Barcelona. Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge believes that spending too much on the midfielder won't be a smart move, and has advised Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to resist the temptation to re-sign him from Barcelona.
In case you didn't know...
The Catalan giants spent a club record £130.50 million to sign him from Liverpool in 2018. The Brazilian failed to hit the ground running and his move has been deemed a failure so far. There have been reports that Barcelona are trying to ship him off to recoup some of the transfer fee they spent.
The heart of the matter
Ex Liverpool striker John Aldridge is not convinced by the idea of Liverpool signing him again. Aldridge pointed out that the Brazilian left the club on a bad note and Liverpool should not blow their transfer budget in signing him.
“Coutinho left on a sour note as he forced his way out of the club and while he is a great player, I don't think Liverpool should blow their transfer budget on bringing him back," Aldridge said as quoted by Irish Independent.
The former Liverpool striker said that he has not forgotten how Coutinho left Liverpool mid-season and argued that the Brazilian does not deserve the easy route to play for the European champions.
“None of us have forgotten that Coutinho left Liverpool in a difficult position when he jumped ship mid-way through the season, so we should not give him a simple route back to play for the European champions. We all trust Klopp in whatever decisions he makes, but I think adding attacking a top quality attacking option would be the way forward this summer.” Aldridge added
Aldridge suggested that Wilfried Zaha can be a better option than Coutinho for Liverpool. He pointed out that Zaha has played well against Liverpool in the last few seasons. The former striker claimed that Klopp can improve the consistency of the winger to make him even better.
“Zaha has given Liverpool some real problems in the last couple of years and Klopp's ability to turn talents of his type into consistent performers has to make him the kind of player who could thrive at Anfield.” Aldridge further added
What's next?
Liverpool were fantastic last season but their midfield lacked creativity. Coutinho can bring creativity but he would cost a lot, so it would be interesting to see if Liverpool goes for him.