Ever since the departure of Neymar to Paris Saint Germain, Barcelona had been keeping tabs on two possible signings to replace their star Brazilian. One was the young talent of Ousmane Dembele, formerly of Borussia Dortmund and the other was Liverpool’s, Philippe Coutinho.
While the deal for Dembele was done in the summer, Liverpool posed a bigger challenge for Barcelona. It took Barcelona six months to soften Liverpool’s grit and a move finally went through in the early days of January this month. The deal cost Barcelona a mammoth £142 million and can rise to an even higher amount of add-ons effectively making Coutinho the second most expensive player in world football.
Klopp’s challenge now will be even more difficult with Philippe Coutinho finally making his long-awaited move to Nou Camp this January. The Brazilian’s wish to leave Merseyside to join Messi and company since last summer has finally come true but has left Klopp an important man short in his attack.
While players of Coutinho’s quality cannot be replaced, Klopp will certainly have to try and replace the Brazilian. He has confirmed that he has all the support of the managers to invest every penny of the deal and more should he need to sign someone.
“You know I’m not a manager who counts all the money and goes to the owners and says we need this. The owners are completely on my side,” he said.
“We have no money issues at this club. We will get all the money. Always since I’m in here we can have all the monies from transfers and more if needed. Nobody told me ‘no way’. So far we got all the players we wanted. Now one has left and it’s not too cool but it’s not a real problem.”
It is in this scenario, that Liverpool is now being linked with a move for Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins. The 22-year-old speedster has been extremely impressive this season for the Portuguese outfit. He has scored 9 goals and provided 8 assists in his 29 games so far this season and reports in Anfield are suggesting that Liverpool is attempting to make a move for him.
The presence of a Liverpool scout for Sporting’s match against Benfica has only furthered such reports linking Martins with a move to England. With the player’s release clause expected to increase from €60m to €100m, Liverpool will have to move quickly if they want to bring in the pacey winger.
Martins’ pace on the wings added with his close control will mean that he will be a good addition to Klopp’s side. He will find Klopp’s high-pressure game suitable to his attacking style of play and the Portuguese will find the perfect mentor in the German to help him hone his talents.
