Peter asks Chris Hurst his thoughts on Phil Coutinho leaving, the consequences and who should replace him at Anfield….
It’s been coming for a while so it’s no great surprise he’s now gone, am I upset? No, I stopped caring about players leaving when Torres left and shattered my world.
Will it effect our chances of top 4? I don’t think it will, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Coutinho is class, but I think the club is in a better position now compared to the past like when Torres left or even Suarez, and we have a manager who can attract a better calibre of player than, no disrespect to him, Brendan Rodgers.
The current squad is more than capable of finishing top 4 and I’m more than sure we will add to the squad this month. To replace Phil, everyone’s saying Thomas Lemar the French International but Monaco don’t look like they want to sell this month, although I’m sure £90m will test their resolve. We have also been linked with Riyad Mahrez but me personally I’d like to see us bring Naby Keita’s move forward to this month to be honest. That would be good but again I am not sure what the chances are with that.
So if I had to choose I’d go with Mahrez, Premier League proven and he would be available to play in the Champions League as well.