They obviously are looking at him and want him but I think "need" is a bit off target when you see where they are and how they play
It's all speculation as it stands, but if our owners let him go in January and accept payment by installments they need ****ing off, it will be pure weakness and greed on their part of they cave in, VVD's arrival will look like a smokescreen to appease us before they pull the rug from under our feet. Barca need him less than us for the rest of the season, they're romping La Liga and Couthinho is cup tied in the CL.
I think Barca are trying to get him on the cheap now you have forked out for VvD, if you knock them back this window I suspect they will go elsewhere in the summer and leave you to pick up the tab for both VvD and Keita with nothing coming back in.
Diego, get a grip, whether anything comes back in or not FSG have got plenty of cash, let the ****s go elsewhere.
Agree a deal, by all means, but stupid to lose him in January. He can give us a few more months and happily move on to Barca for mega bucks. He's vital to our season. We've gotta wait for Keita, they can wait for Coutinho.
Dembele is due to return in their cup game this week, they may just drop all interest in Coutinho once he is up and running.
I had forgot about the kid, 20 years old and bought for £96.8m rising to £135.5m with add ons, they must expect big things from him. Tore his hammy in his 3rd game and has just recovered from the operation, I will be interested to see his progress.
Also interesting note: Someone who's normally spot on on another website (I won't link to it) has said that the VVD transfer was completely down to the boys over in Boston and no one in the UK (Klopp, Edwards, etc) had any involvement until they were told a few days later that it was all finalised. Basically, after the blunders over the summer, they took control and just paid up, no fuss. Point being, it's also likely that Coutinho's transfer is also being sorted out by Boston directly meaning whether Klopp wants to force Coutinho to stay is irrelevant. If they're all about money and profit, he'll be off soon. If they recognise the football side of things, he'll be gone in summer.