Liverpool still in the hunt for Coutinho
Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 11:22 PM | by Jack Johnson 
No one can quite seem to decide if Phillipe Coutinho is going or staying. The latest reports from the Daily Mail state that Liverpool are preparing to up their initial £6.7m bid to nearer something in the region of £8.5-£10m which is the kind of fee Inter are looking for.
Coutinho is just 20, so is exactly the kind of young player Liverpool and their owners FSG are so keen on purchasing. He is comfortable playing all cross the midfield and particularly handy in advanced positions, clearly an area Liverpool have been lacking in somewhat this season. The signing of Daniel Sturridge seems to have eased some of the goalscoring pressure on Luis Suarez, however the acquisition of Coutinho would see a much more creative player added to the Red’s ranks, hopefully allowing Suarez to avoid dropping deep so often and concentrate on his finishing.
At one stage Coutinho was clearly Inter’s intended replacement for the now Galatasaray bound Wesley Sneijder, but the Italian giants have opted for a change in style and if they can pick up a double figure fee for the Brazilian they could well be persuaded to sell after paying just £3.2m for the playmaker back in 2010. Brendan Rodger’s was rumoured to be thinking of a move for Sneijder recently but with a little work and a whole lot of confidence then Coutinho has the potential to reach the same heights the Dutchman did in 2010, and more importantly, sustain them.
Jack Johnson
