Philippe Coutinho warned over Liverpool place after failed Barcelona transfer

Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho has been warned he won’t walk straight back into the Reds’s starting XI after seeing his summer transfer to Barcelona fall through.

The Brazil international was strongly linked with the Catalan giants for much of this summer, with some claims that Liverpool rejected a £138million bid for him late on in the transfer window.

Coutinho is understood to have been keen on the move to the Nou Camp, making himself unavailable for selection in a bid to force an exit, but now looks set to remain at Anfield for at least one more season.

However, former Liverpool star John Aldridge has warned the 25-year-old that he won’t necessarily be an automatic starter for Jurgen Klopp’s side now after their superb start to the season.

Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have shone alongside summer signing Mohamed Salah, while the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dominic Solanke also provide alternatives from the bench.

Given how Liverpool are playing right now, Aldridge has questioned if Coutinho will be seen in Klopp’s starting line up for some time.

‘He will probably be in the squad (for the next game against Manchester City) and it will probably be on the bench, but that’s the right call for me. At the moment, the lads in the starting line-up are playing so well, he needs to wait,’ Aldridge wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo.

‘That’s how it should be, too. You look at the fixtures, and if the players do well, he might have a bit of a wait on his hands. Sevilla, Burnley… in fact, it could easily be that his first start is against Leicester in the cup in a few weeks time.’

Aldridge added that he doesn’t expect Coutinho to stay at Liverpool beyond this season, but called on Reds fans to enjoy him while he’s still at the club.

‘The move over there didn’t happen for him but I’m sure he’ll give us a really good season and wave goodbye next summer, because Barca will come back for him, he’s too good to be ignored,’ he added.

‘I understand why some fans are a bit unsure about him coming back but it’ll only take a belter from outside the area, and we’ll all be singing his name again.

‘Despite what happened, he won’t down tools. The World Cup is coming up and he’s a big part of that Brazil side, don’t forget. He’ll play well, hopefully score 12, 14 goals, bag a load of assists, the fans will applaud him and he’ll go to Barca no problem.

‘Liverpool are going to get a huge amount to reinvest into the team when he leaves, just like we did with Luis Suarez. Let’s just enjoy him while he’s here, and let’s hope he can kick on even more.’

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