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Ahead of Liverpool's Champions League playoff match against German side Hoffenheim, Jurgen Klopp again insisted that Brazilian playmaker Phillipe Coutinho will be staying at Anfield.
Coutinho shocked Liverpool players, management and fans alike after handing in a transfer request last week after the club had released a statement saying he would not be sold at any price. The statement read: "The club’s definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered, and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes."
More fuel was added to the speculation after Coutinho was left out of Liverpool's opening match against Watford where they drew 3-3. Klopp cited injury as the reason for the player's absence.
Coutinho's name was again omitted from the squad's first-leg Champions League playoff match against Hoffenheim and reporters duly questioned Jurgen Klopp in the pre-match post conference about Coutinho's future.
The German manager was extremely strong in his stance and was quoted saying: "I'm not sure what you're asking about. Nothing has changed in the last few days on either side. He's not available for us at the moment. That's the main issue. That's quite a blow for us but we've known for a few days about it so we prepared for this game without him."
Barcelona, on the other hand, signed fellow Brazilian Paulinho from Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande and will hope that Coutinho follows suit in the coming weeks.
Written by Sharhind Singh
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