da bet vitoria： Italian journalist Gabriele Marcotti has claimed that Liverpool are in a financially secure position in that they can keep hold of Philippe Coutinho and also buy RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita.
da supremo： It seems as though Barcelona have stepped up their pursuit of Coutinho, despite the Brazilian signing a new long-term contract at Anfield in January.
Sport recently reported that the Spanish club sent representatives to London to hold talks over a potential deal after a £72m bid was rejected.
The publication suggested that the Reds may be willing to sell if Barcelona match the world-record transfer bid of £89m – the amount that Manchester United paid Juventus to re-sign Paul Pogba last summer.
In terms of incomings, Liverpool have been linked to Keita for some time, but it appears that Leipzig are digging in their heels.
The Merseyside outfit have been knocked back numerous times by the Bundesliga club, but The Mirror reports that they will make one last attempt to sign Keita by tabling a bid in excess of £70m.
Marcotti has claimed that Jurgen Klopp’s club are in a position to have both players at the club, but he has suggested that Coutinho’s future is uncertain.
He told ESPN:
“We’re still talking a tremendous amount of money and I think ultimately from Liverpool’s perspective, if we get into the situation with Neymar, Coutinho, whatever, the question is do you sacrifice Coutinho to get Keita?
“As I understand it, in terms of money, they are in a position where they can [sign Keita and keep Coutinho]. But if a spot opens up at Barcelona and Coutinho might decide ‘listen I’d really like to go there’.
“It’s part of the reason they’ve got all these frontmen now, because they’ve added [Mohamed] Salah to [Roberto] Firmino and [Sadio] Mane and [Daniel] Sturridge and [Dominic] Solanke and whatever. Part of it is because it gives them a bit of insurance in case Coutinho does move.”