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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

Philippe Coutinho told Liverpool "need" him to make Reds return by former teammate

There would be nobody better for Liverpool to sign this summer than Philippe Coutinho, according to the Brazilian's former Reds teammate Jose Enrique.

Coutinho seems set to be on the market again once his loan spell at Bayern Munich runs out at the end of August, when he will be scheduled to return to Barcelona.

The 28-year-old appears to have little future at the Nou Camp though, and two-and-a-half years on from swapping life on Merseyside for Catalonia, he is being tipped for a return by ex-Reds left-back Enrique.

The Spaniard played alongside Coutinho for three-and-a-half years at Anfield, and he'd love to see him return to the newly-crowned Premier League champions.

Coutinho seems set to be on the move again this summer (ALEXANDER HASSENSTEIN/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

“We need a playmaker, a number 10, who is going to be better than Coutinho for us?" Enrique told Stadium Astro.

“He knows the club, he knows the city, he’s going to perform straight away because he’s been a Premier League player.

“The only problem is wages-wise, I believe he’s very, very high wages-wise in Barcelona, so I’m not sure if he will go to Liverpool obviously losing money.

Coutinho and Enrique were teammates at Liverpool for three-and-a-half years (John Powell)

“The problem with Barcelona, they try to play him on the left side all the time, in Neymar’s position and he’s not this type of player, he needs to play in the middle.”

As it stands Liverpool haven't shown too much of an interest in bringing Coutinho back to the club, although he does continue to be linked with a switch back to Merseyside.

The Reds are set to have a quiet summer in the transfer market after clinching the club's 19th league title, although they are being linked with a move for the Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

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