Former Arsenal player turned pundit Alan Smith has weighed in with his opinion on the ongoing Phillipe Coutinho transfer saga, and is in support of Liverpool cashing in on the Brazilian.
Speaking with talkSport about Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez and the Liverpool midfielder, Smith claimed, “Alexis Sanchez is a big shadow hanging over the Emirates… If you’ve got an unhappy player, a bit like Coutinho at Liverpool, that’s not a great situation to have in the dressing room.
“For me, it’s a no-brainer: you’ve got to let him go, get the money and move on.”
Coutinho is wanted by Barcelona, and reports are rife in Spain and Brazil claim the player is more than willing to leave Liverpool, but the club are getting in his way.
There have been no official reports from the player himself to help put the fire out of the rumours flying around, but there have been nothing about his body language to show he indeed wants out.
Liverpool legend Danny Murphy seems to share Alan Smith’s sentiment too, and he believes getting £80million for Coutinho would be a great business.
Barcelona, though, haven’t tabled anything close to that amount, but reportedly are said to be willing to part with £72million for the player.
The Brazilian, 25, has won nothing with Liverpool in all of his 5 seasons with the club, and further trophy drought could actually force him into leaving for greener pastures – like Camp Nou.
