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Why Liverpool Fans Are Unlikely To See An Instant Reinvestment Of The £140m Coutinho Windfall

Why Liverpool Fans Are Unlikely To See An Instant Reinvestment Of The £140m Coutinho Windfall

Don't expect reinvestment any time soon...

Anonymous

Anonymous

The transfer of Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho is one that leaves a significant degree of uncertainty looming over the club as they head into what could be a climactic back end to the season.

The Brazilian joined Liverpool in a £8.5m in the January of 2013 under the reign of the Reds former manager Brendan Rodgers and has enjoyed a renaissance on Merseyside, following a period in which his promising career had stagnated during an uninspiring spell at Italian giants Inter Milan.

From the humble beginnings of his career on European shores, the Little Magician developed into one of Liverpool's most important figures of the modern era - initially in a supporting role for the Sterling-Suarez-Sturridge 'Triple S' front three and more recently alongside Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mané as a member of Jürgen Klopp's infamous 'Fab Four'.

Having blossomed into one of the world's most dangerous front players in the years succeeding his arrival, the Brazilian international has rightfully garnered much attention from some of the biggest team names in world football - with Barcelona the side to finally turn distant admiration into a concrete deal.

Unable to secure a move in summer, a bruising saga riddled with media conjecture has finally reached its conclusion, with the 25-year-old finally securing a move to the Catalan giants in a move purported to be in the region of £140m.

With a hole of significant magnitude now gaping within the Liverpool squad, the press have been quick to name a myriad of players to undertaking the sizeable task of filling the gap that Coutinho's departure has now left.

Coutinho
Coutinho

Monaco's prodigious talent Thomas Lemar has been linked with a potential big money move to Anfield and there has also been talk of the summer's agreement to see Leipzig's Naby Keïta join the club at the end of the season being moved forward to the present window.

However, many Liverpool fans could well be left disappointed if they are anticipating an instant reinvestment of their newly found windfall into the club's playing staff.

The protracted negotiations that have seen the club reach agreements to sign Virgil van Dijk and the aforementioned Naby Keïta have exemplified Klopp's willingness to exude patience in the pursuit of his first-choice targets, as he seeks to build a long-term dynasty at Anfield.

Following the loss of Coutinho to Barcelona, Klopp commented: "That was a decision I had to make: does it make sense, do I think I can still use him, can he help us still? To be honest, it was 100% clear no chance. It was clear he was not ready to do that anymore."

His words exemplify a managerial perspective that emphasises the importance of retaining collective harmony within the squad, even if that means potentially weakening his side's standing within the league - an event often paralleled during his successful time at Borussia Dortmund that saw star turns Mario Götze, Nuri Şahin and Shinji Kagawa leave, having had their heads turned by clubs deemed more prestigious than der BVB.

Whilst the loss of such a talented player will undoubtedly be demoralising for a manager desperately seeking to rebuild Liverpool's standing on the world stage following a turbulent decade in the club's illustrious history, Klopp has been proactive in seeking to put a positive spin on the move - suggesting it could bring greater balance to a side that has been too dependent on the creativity of the scintillating Brazilian playmaker at times this season.

Speaking ahead of the club's exhilarating 4-3 win over City, the Liverpool manager claimed: "In a few games, like Tottenham away, we gave him the ball and he was not in the best shape. It was kind of a solution for us to give him the ball. Now, we don't have to look for that. It can make us more unpredictable if we don't."

Klopp may be a manager that wears his heart on his sleeve during every game of the season but he will also be aware that the unlikely victory over the league's run away leaders doesn't provide instantaneous proof that the decision to let such a talent leave was correct.

It is difficult to argue against the fact that the immediate fallout from the move leaves a squad that possesses less guile than before and that they may still lose out in the dogfight to finish the season amongst the Champions League places.

Although a failure to secure a Champions League spot in successive seasons would undoubtedly be a blow for the manager, this is a man that has proven across his managerial career that he is willing to take the slow route to delivering success.

Both the result of circumstance and a fundamental belief in the values of coaching success, Klopp's reputation is founded upon building for the future; the success of his time in the Bundesliga derived from intelligent recruitment policies, a meticulous training regime and steadfast club culture that oversaw the emergence of such stars as Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Robert Lewandowski.

Whilst the financial implications for the Liverpool of 2018 may be different to those he found in his formative years at Dortmund and Mainz, the propensity towards patience in the development process has seemingly remained.

Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp

The German's commitment to the long-term is exemplified by his decision to tie himself down to an almost unprecedented six year contract at the beginning of the 2016/17 season. Indeed, it is perhaps this long-term security that has afforded him the opportunity to wait for his first choice targets and provides prospective signings with arguably one of the clearest vision of a project to work towards amongst all the teams in the Premier League.

With Mourinho and Guardiola known for their all-in, short-term approach to club management, Arsenal stalwart Arsene Wenger in the sunset years of his managerial career and the Chelsea job being arguably one of the most volatile positions in world football, only Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur could be deemed to provide a similar degree of clarity amongst the Premier League's elite clubs.

Whether Klopp's persistent willingness to gamble on waiting for the right players to become available and the apparent openness to losing stars that no longer believe in the project will pay dividends is unclear.

However, in a climate in which short-termism and instant success often takes precedence over the painstaking process of implementing future-proof plans orientated towards prolonged success, the German's attitude is one that should be heralded by the club's fans - no matter how frustrating it may at times.

WORDS BY JOE THOMAS - @JoeThom4

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Topics: Liverpool, Football News, Football, Barcelona, Transfers, Philippe Coutinho, Premier League