Philippe Coutinho left out of Liverpool’s squad to face Manchester City in Premier League
Philippe Coutinho transfer news: Liverpool squad, Barcelona, Manchester City, Premier League | Fox SportsFox sports Reds manager Jurgen Klopp said the Brazil international, who was the subject of three failed transfer bids from Barcelona during the transfer window, was in “a good mood” after returning to Merseyside following international duty.Klopp held a meeting with Coutinho and said they were both in agreement that he must build up his fitness before being considered for the first team.
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“But I had to make a decision. We have seven games in the next three weeks so there will never be time really to train.
“Before [Coutinho] went to Brazil he couldn’t train for about three weeks. That means we have to prepare him for the rest of the season, which is quite difficult with our fixture schedule.
Brazil's Coutinho (L) takes part in a training session.Source: AFP“So I decided to leave him out of the squad for City. We can use these four or five days for real and proper training.
“We got all the numbers from the Brazilian FA around the intensity of training and stuff like this.
“That was all okay but he played twice, for around 15 or 20 minutes I think.
“He could have played 15 or 20 minutes again in the City game, maybe longer, but I think it makes sense [to omit him].
“He agreed completely. It was a good conversation.”
Klopp believes Liverpool handled the speculation over Coutinho’s future “really well” and says his relationship with the player remains strong.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 17: Jurgen Klopp and Philippe Coutinho.Source: Getty Images“He came in on Thursday and 100 per cent accepted the situation,” said Klopp. “I didn’t even have to say anything about it.
“We have a wonderful player in our squad who wants to get fit and play for this club. We don’t know how long anybody will play for the club, sometimes we want to send players away and also sometimes players think about their futures.
“That’s a normal situation and there’s absolutely no problem.”
Liverpool reportedly demanded £183m ($300m) to sell the Brazilian to Barca, but Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has revealed that wasn’t true.
Brazil's team players Neymar (L) and Coutinho.Source: AFPHe wrote: “Liverpool always denied they had said that and they insisted like day one that Coutinho was not for sale. That is 100 per cent true.”
“Barcelona said that someone from Liverpool told them ‘we can start talking from the €200m (£183m) mark’. That is not totally true. Liverpool never said that.
“But the intermediary who had been talking to both clubs did mention it. Not Liverpool. So that resolves the mystery.”
Meanwhile, Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is out of Saturday’s lunchtime visit of Liverpool due to a calf problem.
The centre-back, who has a long history of calf injuries, sustained the problem after completing the 90 minutes of Belgium’s hammering of minnows Gibraltar in World Cup qualifying in Brussels last week.
“He played for Belgium, in Gibraltar, [when] they won 9-0. He had a little problem with his calf and I think he will not be available for tomorrow,” said manager Pep Guardiola.
Belgium's Vincent Kompany.Source: AFPThe Spaniard was then asked whether the lack of central defensive cover could be an oversight on his part after the closing of the Premier League’s transfer window and he added: “The window is over, with, or without Vincent.
“We thought maybe [we’d buy] another [defender]. [But] we have [Eliaquim] Mangala, we have Tosi [Adarabioyo] so we have other options in that position.”
Guardiola predicted that the 31-year-old Kompany would only be sidelined for a “short” period of time.
City are level on points with second-placed Liverpool in the table after winning two and drawing one of their three games to date and welcome the Reds to the Etihad Stadium for the Sky Sports Premier League/Main Event lunchtime clash.
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