Valverde on Coutinho: "I like who I have in my team at the moment"

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde spoke at a press conference before his side return to action in 2018 with a Copa del Rey clash against Celta Vigo in Balaídos. He spoke about Coutinho and Dembélé along with the possibility of someone paying Samuel Umtiti's buy-out clause.

Relying on Dembélé as he returns from injury? 

"At the moment, in January, there aren't too many games because we don't know if we will go through or not. But getting Dembélé back is positive. He got injured when he was adapting to the team, and he has to adapt again. We will see if he can help us. We think he can be important and we will count on him for the rest of the season. He has to come back in little by little.

Coutinho asked to leave Liverpool in summer and didn't succeed? How do you see the situation? 

I don't know. I hear a lot of things and I don't know whether they are true or not. He is a player for another team. He is a fine player and we don't know what will happen. I really like what I have on my team now. We will see if he comes or not.

Worried about someone paying the €60 million Umtiti release clause?

I don't have to worry about this. I know that Umtiti is a really good player and we hope that he is here for a long time and that he enjoys it.

Waiting until the end of the season for Coutinho?

I have nothing to say about him. He is at another club and we respect other club and we respect the player.