02 Jan 2018 11:09:03
Ok so having put as little thought into this as possible here are my top 5 contenders to replace some of coutinho's magic.

1. Julian Brandt, he has vision, can dribble and can score a goal or two. By no means the finished article but has lots of potential to become an excellent player.

2. Gelson Martins, execellent dribbler with tricks up the ying yang. He can score and can assist. He is my fav but maybe to early in his career for lfc but would love him none the less. Price will be a factor as his club has put a very high price tag on him.

3. Christian Pulisic, as ed333 has eloquently said he has a very high ceiling and can be as good as his dedication permits. He brings pace, dribbling and goals to the table but is not as creative as the other two. Would still be an excellent elixir to soothe the coutinho hole.

4. Thomas Lemar, has an excellent assist rate, shot and is a dead ball specialist. He can also play all along the left side as ed01 has pointed out. He would not be my choice as i think he is limited in some respects and won't get much better than he already is.

5. Dani Cellabos, he is more of a cenral mid with attacking inclinations. He has got good skills and tricks and vision but lacks pace for me. I do however like his defensive capabilities and he would be a good foil to keita, plus he is still very young and can get even better.

All bring something different to the table but none quiet fully filling that coutinho hole excuse the pun. Personally i would go all out to convince brandt that his future lies here (legally) but would be equally stoked if we blew out coutinho.


1.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 11:28:03
I’d take Brandt. For me he’s the closest to Phill with regards to dribbling ability and where he can play. He is similar to couts in terms of pace not the quickest but has good acceleration when needed. For me he’s the one I’d go for. Imagine a midfield of Brandt Keita and Goretzka? I mean it’s possible. A man can dream.


2.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 11:32:42
Is Brandt an option still? Thought it all cooled down once he decided against us in the summer over playing time.


3.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 12:14:35
I highly doubt Ceballos is linked to any of this. He is a young central midfielder. I'm not even sure you could count him as an attacking midfielder like you could Goretzka. He's more of a midfield playmaker than a goal threat.

Coutinho will be replaced by a player who can score goals. Ceballos is more of an assist/ key pass player than a goal threat. Far more likely Ceballos and Keita are seen as the replacements for the likes Can, Grujic and Milner.

Coutinho will be replaced by a goal scorer. If it's a midfielder, it will be a player In the mould of Goretzka whose main asset is scoring from midfield. When we lose Coutinho, we lose at least 15 goals a season. Not even Liverpool are stupid enough to replace our third main goal threat so far this season, with an inexperienced play maker. Isn't it telling that since Meyer dropped into a deeper role, we've dropped all interest in him as a Coutinho replacement? Coutinho will be replaced by a forward.

If we sign Ceballos, it would purely be an opportunistic signing because his representatives have approached us. Not as an alternative to Brandt/ Lemar. Totally different types of players. Ceballos has nothing to do with Coutinho in my opinion. Sometimes when good players are available and approach you, you just take the opportunity. That shouldn't impact your other plans though. If you allow it to, that's just poor management and irresponsible.


4.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 12:34:50
Pulisic by a distance. He's destined to be world class if fit and healthy.


5.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 12:50:44
I agree Big Al, Pulisic any day over the rest, all great players but he's on another level.


6.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 13:04:58
I'd love to know what people disagree with? Ceballos has 9 career goals in 120 odd appearances. Coutinho has 12 goals in the last 3 months.

If anybody seriously thinks he's a suitable replacement for Coutinho, i worry for them. Klopp has clearly identified left sided attackers who can also play in mdfield. Lemar, Brandt, Draxler, Laxalt and Meyer were the players we were interested in. Draxler and Meyer have since dropped into deeper midfielder roles, and Laxalt is terrible. That leaves Lemar and Brandt for me.

Goretzka was only ever seen as an alternative to Keita but this season he's been playing in a more attacking midfield role and scoring goals. He has also played as a wide midfielder previously but he was moved centrally because he can't cross for toffee and always cut inside anyway. Goretzka could indirectly replace Coutinho as he'd add goals to our team albeit from a different position, but he can't cover in the front 3 unlike Brandt and Lemar.

Now that Can is definitely not signing his new contract, it makes sense that we would go for a replacement in Ceballos. Klopp wanted Keita and Can. Hence why he signed Keita and still offered Can a contract. Therefore if Can leaves, he needs to be replaced. Maybe I'm wrong but this all seems like simple logic to me. Unlike Goretzka, Ceballos is not a genuine goal threat so it seems ridiculous that he's being mooted as any form of replacement for Coutinho. Ceballos might get 3-5 goals a season, but Coutinho gets that every couple of months. They're not even comparable players. I'll be disappointed in LFC if they replace a goal scoring attacker with a midfielder who doesn't score.


7.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 13:15:54
Pulisic lacks end product, his shooting from distance is poor, his crossing isn’t great and he doesn’t have the vision in his passing, he can dribble well but that isn’t enough to break the bank for. It’s also well worth remembering that he’s only 19 years old and is far too early in his development to join and expect him to replace Coutinho as it would be harmful for him. Think how we signed Markovic before he was ready? That’s not even considering the fact he’s a Man United fan who has said he would only consider playing for United if he came to the premier league, surely that’s not worth pursuing. Personslly I think we should go for someone more ready to go straight away, Forsberg, Insigne and Lemar for example. Forsberg is a superb footballer, he’s got pace, skill and end product (his shooting, passing and crossing ability are one of the reasons for RBL success) he can play wide midfield or number ten, Insigne reminds me of Zola and that’s a very high compliment, only difficulty is that Napoli are hard to negotiate with. Lemar has a great range of passing, has good dead ball delivery and long range passes and can play number 10, number 8 and on the wing as well as full back, any of those would be adequate ready to go replacements.


8.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 14:01:47
Whilst this isn't the main consideration, if everything else is even we should get Pulisic for the commercial aspect.

He's set to be the first US mega star and if Liverpool became the Yank's favourite team it would go a long way to financially closing the gap to our rivals.


9.) 02 Jan 2018
02 Jan 2018 16:20:59
Mr Dennis, have you seen Pulisic play. The kid is quality and having watched him in the CL this season, he may be a bit rough around the edges BUT his quality is unquestionable and at 19, he is way ahead of many his age and even older. The kid has everything and can play anywhere in the attacking third. He would be my pick and if he is not available (which he is not), I would take Brandt w/ o hesitation as he like Pulisic (tho Forsberg is a good shout), can play in a front 3 or the no. 10 role where he currently plays now at Leverkusen.

Not sure about this Ceballos kid as he seems to young and unproven tho he has talent as real beat out some good teams to get him. he is no no. 10 and not a wide forward so don't know what he will be doing here, in that regard.