Philippe Coutinho

The 50-year-old did not want to share details of his discussion with the midfielder, but did state he knows the player is very content at Anfield

Jurgen Klopp confirmed he spoke to Philippe Coutinho following Liverpool’s rebuffing of Barcelona’s £72 million bid for the Brazil international, who is “more than comfortable” at Anfield.

The Reds informed the Spanish giants that the 25-year-old is not for sale for any price on Thursday night immediately after receiving their offer.

Classy Coutinho is priceless

And that private communication was publicly declared a day later, with Klopp reaffirming his star player is not on the market at a press conference.

Following Liverpool’s 2-1 victory in the final of the Premier League Asia Trophy, in which the maestro was the standout performer as he set up Mohamed Salah’s opener before adding a cracking, curled finish of his own, the manager revealed the attacker is happy on Merseyside.

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“Everybody knows that Phil Coutinho is a key player for us, no doubt,” said Klopp in the post-match media briefing on Saturday.

“I know he feels completely more than fine, comfortable – or whatever – in Liverpool. 

“He loves the club, he loves the city and all that is clear.

“That he is able to play like he did tonight in a very difficult moment in pre-season after all these sessions is good to see and shows his big potential.”

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The 50-year-old did not want to share details of his discussion with Coutinho, but the above confidence in the Brazilian’s feeling at present would’ve been gleaned from those talks.

The playmaker signed a new five-year deal in January without a release clause – another indication of his willingness to continue being central to Klopp’s ambitions for Liverpool.

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The 25-year-old orchestrated his side’s Premier League Asia Trophy final victory over Leicester with a clever assist and cracking curler on Saturday

There had been desperation for a sign; any indication of whether Liverpool rejecting a £72 million bid from Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho would lead to him sulking and had muddled his mind, or if he’d engage in a gesture to suggest the opposite.

Instead, the only evidence the Brazil international provided on a sticky night at Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday was of his spellbinding talents.

Liverpool 2-1 Leicester

It was instructive as to why the Spanish giants court him, and a well-timed reminder of why the Merseysiders have to ensure he continues to be their creative heartbeat.

Coutinho would have known that regardless of what he did on the pitch, the coverage post-match would centre on him just as it did leading into the Premier League Asia Trophy final against Leicester.

Stationed in a midfield three – just in front of Gini Wijnaldum and in tandem with Adam Lallana – he stylishly shrugged that off and was the architect of his side’s 2-1 victory.

The 25-year-old first supplied Mohamed Salah before treating the 39,498-strong Liverpool-dominated crowd to his trademark cut-in-and-curl-into-far-corner finish.

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It was the performance of a true luminary as Coutinho controlled the Reds’ direction in possession, despite being the prime target of persistent fouling.

For the opening goal, he was positioned deep and switched play with a dissecting delivery to Salah on the right flank. Coutinho advanced as the Egyptian played a one-two with Trent Alexander-Arnold and freed himself to receive the ball.

He anticipated the speedster’s dart between Danny Drinkwater and Harry Maguire, lofting a pass into that very space. Salah, having kept Christian Fuchs in his shadow, headed in to equalise after Islam Slimani’s opener.

Coutinho then took the game away from Craig Shakespeare’s side in the 44th minute, after fine interplay between the club’s record signing and Roberto Firmino.

With his countryman flicking the ball out to the left, Coutinho fetched it, took a touch and cut onto his right foot, driving inside before curling a cracker beyond Kasper Schmeichel.

You knew it was coming, Leicester did too, but he couldn’t be stopped.

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It is no surprise that Barcelona covet him so intensely and have done so for a while; he can bend a match to his will and make things happen.

As Lallana pointed out, the Rio-born maestro is “in that elite bracket.” The midfielder also stressed that Liverpool are “a massive club. If we’re going to win competitions like the Champions League and Premier League, then we need to keep our players like Philippe.”

The Anfield side’s talent drain in recent history has been stifling, proving progress cannot be a smooth process during a constant state of rebuild.

Jurgen Klopp has not lost a core member of his squad since taking charge in October 2015, and has already confirmed that will not change this summer.

Barcelona have been told Coutinho is not for sale at any price and on Sunday, he illustrated just why Liverpool can’t afford to lose him.

The showpiece may have only been a practice match, but these fixtures form the base for the season. Klopp wants his players to ensure they’re displaying good habits continually and being the fulcrum – whether it’s against Leicester in Asia or in the league at King Power Stadium.

The Reds boss, having spoken to the Brazilian following the rejection of Barca’s offer, is confident he will remain focal to their ambitions.

Jürgen Klopp on Phil Coutinho: ‘I know he feels completely more than fine in Liverpool. He loves the club, he loves the city – it is clear’ pic.twitter.com/LmxwiO4VZU

— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) July 22, 2017

“Everybody knows that Phil Coutinho is a key player for us, no doubt,” Klopp said after the victory.

“I know he feels completely more than fine, comfortable – or whatever – in Liverpool. He loves the club, he loves the city and all that is clear.

“That he is able to play like he did tonight, in a very difficult moment in pre-season after all these sessions, is good to see and shows his big potential.”

It also showed that Liverpool have to be anchored to their hardline stance on his future.

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Mohamed Salah and Philippe Coutinho were on target for Liverpool as they beat Leicester City 2-1 to win the Premier League Asia Trophy.

Philippe Coutinho treated Liverpool fans in Hong Kong to a performance full of promise for the new season as the Reds beat Leicester City 2-1 in the Premier League Asia Trophy final.

Having overcome Crystal Palace 2-0 in their previous game of the pre-season tournament, Jurgen Klopp’s side looked sharp and cohesive as they scored two first-half goals following Islam Slimani’s 12th-minute opener for Leicester.

Mohamed Salah combined with Coutinho to equalise and the Brazilian playmaker scored a superb solo effort to put Liverpool ahead before half-time.

With three weeks to go until the start of the season, Klopp will have been pleased to see his forwards linking up intuitively, with winger Salah gelling well with his new team-mates after joining from Roma in June.

Leicester’s new signing Harry Maguire endured a tough test in defence and manager Craig Shakespeare will be looking for more from his players in their forthcoming friendlies, which include a meeting with Borussia Monchengladbach.

The Reds win the #PLAsiaTrophy. pic.twitter.com/UnlCsRHYmf

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 22, 2017

Coutinho in particular excited the crowd at Hong Kong Stadium and he rifled a low shot into the body of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from 25 yards after three minutes.

Leicester attacked incisively in the early stages and, after good work down the left flank by Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez – linked with a possible move away from the club during the close-season – crossed for Slimani to powerfully head home at the far post.

Eight minutes later, Salah set off on a probing run down the Liverpool right and he cut inside before squaring to Coutinho, who played a delightful chipped pass into the box where the Egyptian timed his run perfectly and nodded the ball past Schmeichel into the bottom-left corner.

Liverpool took control thereafter and Coutinho delighted the crowd in the 44th minute when he broke down the left before cutting inside, sending a thunderbolt of a shot into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Klopp made four changes at half-time, sending on Ragnar Klavan, Marko Grujic, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge, and Grujic hit a spectacular volley over the crossbar in the 49th minute as Liverpool picked up where they left off in the second period.

Having recovered from their lapse early in the first half, Liverpool’s defence coped well with the threat posed by Leicester’s two-pronged attack and Loris Karius did well to deny Vardy, rushing out to claim the ball from the England striker’s feet.

Vardy sent a shot just wide moments later but as the second half wore on both teams began to suffer the effects of the warm temperatures and there were few chances at either end as Liverpool ran out comfortable winners.

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Jurgen Klopp re-iterated on Tuesday that the Reds will not lose a player they want to keep in the window, while the 25-year-old has no release clause

Liverpool rejected an opening offer of £72 million for Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona on Thursday night with the message that he is not for sale this summer – at any price.

The Spanish giants, who earlier shelved their long-term drive for the Brazil international due to feeling it was ‘impossible’ from a financial and sporting perspective after he signed a new five-year deal without a release clause in January, have now been pushed into making their move following Paris Saint-Germain’s world-record pursuit of Neymar.

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The French club are willing to pay €222m (£199m) for the forward – the exit fee in his contract – having considered Coutinho themselves in their ambitious recruitment drive.

PSG did not make a formal enquiry for Liverpool’s highest-paid player, with the Reds strongly stating none would be welcomed.

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That was evident in the way the Reds rebuffed Barca’s approach, with Jurgen Klopp re-iterating on Tuesday that they “will not lose a player we want to keep this summer.”

Coutinho is aware he is core to the manager’s ambitions, and his happiness at Anfield was confirmed by his preparedness to ink fresh terms at the turn of 2017 with no escape stipulation.

“I signed this new contract to stay here for a few more years because it’s a great honour for me,” he said at the time.

“It gives me great happiness because I was welcomed here with open arms by everyone at the club and the supporters right from my first day.

“I am very thankful to this football club for everything.”

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Liverpool’s attitude over Coutinho not being on the market mirrors RB Leipzig’s with Naby Keita, who is Klopp’s priority midfield target.

The Bundesliga side have batted away two offers for the Guinea international with a deal “practically impossible” for the Reds to pull off.

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The Reds boss will not sanction an exit for the Brazil international or any other key player ahead of the new campaign as they take “the next step”

Jurgen Klopp remains calm over Liverpool’s limited business in the transfer window so far and insisted the advancement of the current squad is equally as important as making new signings.

Mohamed Salah and Dominic Solanke have been the only recruits for the Reds this summer, with the club aiming to further strengthen at left-back, midfield and in the heart of defence.

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Hull City’s Andy Robertson is on the agenda to provide competition for James Milner in a deal worth around £8 million, while an opening £57m bid for RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita was rejected, with the dynamo the priority target to elevate the quality in the centre of the park.

Liverpool were forced into making an apology to Southampton over Virgil van Dijk and publicly ended their interest in the defender on June 7.

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Despite the difficulties in getting their main business over the line, Klopp has refused to panic or become annoyed.

“I am not easy to frustrate. It’s the transfer market,” he said.

“Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t. That’s how it is. I’m still relaxed. Everything is open until August 31.”

Paris Saint-Germain have been heavily linked with Philippe Coutinho, but the Reds boss will not sanction an exit for the Brazil international or any other key player in the squad.

The 50-year-old is expecting the current group to reach another level in the upcoming campaign given their shared experiences under his tenure.

“Not with only Phil, but it’s a good thing to talk about in the transfer window because the world thinks improving is only about bringing in new players,” Klopp noted.

“Nobody thinks that the players we already have will make the next step, which is also a nice idea. We use the transfer window, of course, because it gives us an opportunity, but the main thing I think about is how we can make the next step with the players we had last season.

“The good news is we didn’t lose – and we will not lose – a player we want to keep this summer. That’s the best news actually and then we’ll see who can bring into the squad. I expect a lot of progress from the players based on their experiences from the last years.”

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The Reds’ highest-paid player signed a new five-year deal without a release clause in January and has no desire to depart Anfield this summer

Liverpool have fielded no enquiries from Paris Saint-Germain over Philippe Coutinho and have reiterated none would be welcomed nor entertained over the Brazil international.

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The Ligue 1 side made advances to the 25-year-old’s camp last summer and he has again featured on the club’s list of elite targets  – a move understood to be driven by Olivier Letang, their former sporting director who now works alongside the player’s agent Kia Joorabchian.

Coutinho, who will report back to Merseyside for pre-season training on Tuesday after an extended break given his international exertions, is perhaps more unattainable than Kylian Mbappe – PSG’s priority objective in the window.

The teenage sensation is considering an exit from Monaco, which would set a new world-record fee, with Real Madrid in prime position to sign him whether that happens this year or next.

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Liverpool’s highest-paid player, meanwhile, affirmed his commitment to the club by signing a new five-year deal without a release clause in January.

Coutinho is not for sale and has no desire to depart Anfield this summer with Barcelona already having to shelve their long-term drive for him.

If the French club continue to covet the Brazilian and make a play for him ahead of 2017-18, their recruitment frustrations will only be enhanced.

PSG’s first-choice target had been Alexis Sanchez, as was the case last year, but the Chile international wants to reunite with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

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They had then focused their efforts on Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but new sporting director Antero Henrique pulled the plug on a deal he felt was excessive for the 28-year-old.

Mbappe is now the main order of business, but the club are aware they are not likely to add him as an incomer, with only left-back Yuri Berchiche signed thus far.

Chasing Coutinho would thus only serve as a further waste of time and energy, but it is understood that James Rodriguez could finally provide PSG with some joy in the window.

The club opened talks with Madrid at the start of July over the Colombian, with a move to the Parc des Princes currently looking favourable.

Unai Emery is hoping to make three more purchases in addition to Berchiche before the season kicks off.

Coutinho will certainly not be one of those.

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