Mellor on Philippe Coutinho: “He hasn’t been missed”

Former Liverpool striker Neil Mellor believes Philippe Coutinho hasn’t been missed since making a big-money move to Barcelona in January 2018.

The Brazilian left Anfield for a fee of around £142million and has struggled to make an impact at the Nou Camp, with various reports linking him with a switch back to his former club this summer.

However, Mellor doesn’t think Liverpool have any reason to pursue a move for the player formerly known as ‘The Little Magician’ as his loss hasn’t been as keenly felt on Merseyside as initially feared.

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“I think Coutinho was a great player for Liverpool and I really did enjoy watching him,” Mellor told American Gambler.

“He had creative influence to make things happen and of course, I was disappointed when he left.

“Leaving for Barcelona for whatever reason, he hasn’t shown the same quality at Barcelona that he did at Liverpool.

“One of the biggest compliments that you would give the current Liverpool side and Klopp, is that they didn’t really miss Coutinho.

“They went from competing for the top four to competing for a title without Coutinho and won the Champions League.

“He was a great player for Liverpool and loved watching him, but he hasn’t been missed.”

One player who Mellor believes Liverpool should hang on to is centre-back Dejan Lovren, who has been linked with a move to AC Milan in recent days.

“I think he is a player that benefited with [Virgil] van Dijk’s arrival,” Mellor said of the 29-year-old Croatian.

“Whoever has partnered Van Dijk, Lovren being one of them, they have all looked great playing alongside him.

“I know that he has found himself out of the team because of how well [Joel] Matip has played in the second half of the season.

“As a third or fourth choice centre-back, I don’t think Liverpool should be in a hurry to get rid of him because of the cover that he provides in that position.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com