Exclusive: Ex-Red’s verdict on whether Liverpool will regret not moving for Coutinho | OneFootball

Stan Collymore has suggested that signing Philippe Coutinho at the end of the season would make a great deal more sense for Aston Villa than it would for Liverpool.

The Brazilian international linked up with former Reds teammate and skipper, Steven Gerrard, at the West Midlands-based outfit on a loan deal from Barcelona.

“Absolutely not. You have to detach your emotions from being a pundit or an analyst and what the player can give,” the 50-year-old told Empire of the Kop.

“There’s an argument that Liverpool at the moment… you’re looking at the attacking options – Minamino and Ox scored today – so it’s probably not the greatest time to get Coutinho in because those two guys have scored.

“I think that on the wages he’s on that would have perhaps been a problem for FSG.”

The playmaker marked his return to the Premier League brilliantly with a late goal to deny Manchester United a lion’s share of the points at Villa Park.

“At £33m at the end of the season, it will be down to Aston Villa to decide whether that is good value,” Collymore added.

“It probably is for Villa. Would it be for Liverpool? Not sure.

“I think that Liverpool could look at 22-26 age range – Phil will be 30 by then – and get the next Philippe Coutinho.”

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At the player’s current age, Collymore’s certainly correct to presume that it’s highly unlikely our recruitment team will perceive the little magician as a genuine target.

That’s also not taking into account the manner in which he first departed to club to pursue a big-money move to the Spanish top-flight.

We wish the midfielder the best luck under Gerrard, though we can’t reasonably foresee a situation where Julian Ward and co. (not to mention Jurgen Klopp) would be prepared to sanction the player’s return.

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