Can Philippe Coutinho Start For Barcelona?

Even before Coutinho almost broke the Argentina net in Brazil’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win on Thursday, his face was already plastered on to the front cover of Catalan newspaper Sport.

The Liverpool midfielder has been linked with a Camp Nou move on and off for the best part of a year now. His form for club and country is only strengthening the idea that he could tread the same path to the one which Luis Suarez followed in 2014.

Sport claim there’s been regular contact between the player’s representatives and Barca, although there’s nothing solid on the table at the moment. In the future, though, the reports strongly imply, the club do see him as an obvious transfer target.

His friendships with Neymar and Suarez, his six month loan spell with Espanyol 2012, where he got to know the city and the language, and even his “Barca DNA” are listed as the reasons why it’s inevitable he would choose the Blaugrana if he ever left Liverpool.

As good as he is and as spectacular as he’s been this season, it’s difficult to see where he would fit in at Barcelona at the moment. The front three of Lionel Messi, Suarez and Neymar are untouchable. Behind them, for the time being, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic have the midfield positions buckled down — as Denis Suarez, Rafinha, Arda Turan and Andre Gomes have found out.

Of course, at 24, Coutinho has age on his side and local reports suggest he could be the eventual heir to Iniesta, but what would that mean for summer signings Denis Suarez and Gomes? They’re both younger than him and Luis Enrique is also a fan of Rafinha.

Coutinho has shown he can dovetail well with Neymar further forward, but Messi and Suarez aren’t on an obvious decline yet. There’s no space for him at Barca. Not yet. And certainly not for the money Liverpool would be able to demand. Things may look different in a couple of years but for now Coutinho to Barcelona feels more fiction than fact. — Sam Marsden.

Once again these links have emerged at a time when the forward is flourishing, as the Catalan-based newspaper devoted a front page to Barcelona’s interest in signing Coutinho last October. It’s just natural that elite players who are at the top of their game are going to be linked to elite clubs. Reports of this nature are going to stick around if Coutinho continues with his fine form, and especially with him making innocent visits to see members of the Barcelona team who he holds good long-standing friendships with.

For Liverpool, all they can do is to maintain their “little magician” is simply not for sale and hope to secure his long-term future with a contract that reflects a player of such worth. Getting Coutinho to sign that deal may prove to be difficult business, with his advisers likely to be keen on including a buy-out clause should teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona make a move.

It is apparent that Liverpool are on an upward trajectory under Jurgen Klopp, who has looked to put an end the continued departure of the club’s best players. Keeping Coutinho, who repeatedly linked to a move to Paris Saint-Germain this summer, was important, given Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling had left Anfield in the summers of 2014 and 2015 respectively. But if Barcelona come in with an acceptable offer in this time then the Merseyside outfit may have no choice but to let Coutinho fulfil his ambitions in Spain.

The Brazilian is in the form of his life at the moment, and this season looks to have shaken off his inconsistency that meant a move to Barcelona would have been a stretch too far in the past, taking his game up a level. A move in January would be unlikely, with Coutinho seemingly have bought into Klopp’s push for the title. However, it may prove to be a different story in the summer transfer window. — Glenn Price

Liverpool know all about losing stellar South American talent to Barcelona having seen Suarez leave in 2014 but they shouldn’t be too concerned at the moment. Coutinho is settled at Liverpool and it is unlikely he’d command a regular first team place at the Camp Nou, but in the future a move could be viable.