Former player claims £105m ace with ‘vision’ and ‘technique’ will not join Liverpool

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Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with Philippe Coutinho.

Emmanuel Petit has told The Mirror that he does not think that reported Tottenham Hotspur target Philippe Coutinho will go back to Liverpool.

Coutinho was on the books of Liverpool from January 2013 until January 2018 when he joined Barcelona for an initial transfer fee reported by BBC Sport to be worth £105 million.

The Brazil international attacking midfielder was brilliant during his time at the Reds, but the 27-year-old has failed to make a massive impact at Camp Nou.

The former Inter man, who can also operate as a winger, joined Bayern Munich on a season-long loan deal in the summer transfer window.

According to The Express, Tottenham and Liverpool are among the clubs interested in signing Coutinho from Barcelona in the summer transfer window.

Former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Petit has given his take on Coutinho’s future, and he does not believe that the Brazilian will go back to Anfield.

Petit told The Mirror about Coutinho: “I’m pretty sure it would work out for him [returning to England]. He fits perfectly with the Premier League. He’s got the vision, the technique, the speed, he can strike, he has the creativity.

“We all know what he is capable of. I was a big fan of his when he was at Liverpool. I would be very, very happy to see him back in the Premier League.

“He won’t go back to Liverpool. When I was at Barcelona, they wanted me back at Arsenal, and it was tempting – I was close to returning to Arsenal.

“But at the end of the day, I was thinking ‘Emmanuel, you need to be honest with yourself. If you left a year ago it was for a reason.'”

“If Coutinho is honest with himself, since he left Liverpool they have won the Champions League and they’re on the way to winning the Premier League. Liverpool haven’t needed him, so why would he go back to Liverpool?”

Stats

During his loan spell at Bayern so far this season, Coutinho has scored eight goals and provided six assists in 22 Bundesliga matches, and has scored one goal and provided two assists in seven Champions League games, according to WhoScored.