Klopp: "No need to sell Coutinho to balance Liverpool books"
Liverpool's record purchase of Virgil van Dijk will not increase the prospect of Philippe Coutinho leaving Anfield, says boss Jürgen Klopp.Barcelona vs Atlético: UEFA Youth League
Jürgen Klopp insists Liverpool have no need to sell Philippe Coutinho in order to recoup the cash spent on their £75million swoop for Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Klopp salutes "ambitious" Liverpool owners
The Reds' move to make Netherlands international Van Dijk the most expensive defender of all time was confirmed on Wednesday, drawing a line under one of the transfer sagas that dominated the pre-season at Anfield. The other was Barcelona's ultimately fruitless pursuit of Brazil playmaker Coutinho, who has resumed his pivotal role at Liverpool and been in sublime while notching seven goals in December
As such, reports of Barca's interest have persisted but Klopp is adamant his move to secure Van Dijk will not affect the future of a player for whom the LaLiga leaders reportedly had a £115m bid turned down in August. "No, nobody told me that [I would have to sell Coutinho]," he told reporters. "We have good players and we don't have to sell anybody because of that. So fair play to our owners that they are ambitious."