5 players Liverpool could sign with the Coutinho money

This was coming. Anyone who thought that Liverpool would get away from Barcelona after avoiding them in the summer was perhaps just way too optimistic or pessimistic—depending on which side you stand.

It was actually quite pointless. Southampton blocked Virgil van Dijk’s move as Liverpool failed to cough up the money the Saints wanted and, as a result, the Reds blocked Barca’s advances towards the Brazilian.

And now, both of them have reached the respective destinations that they had hoped for after wasting 6 months in an attempt to avoid the inevitable.

Anyhow, it is time to look forward to the Reds and here are the 5 players that they should sign now…

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#5 Thomas Lemar (AS Monaco)

If the reports of Coutinho’s fees of £105m upfront and £40m in add-ons are true, then Liverpool have a lot of money to spend and, dare I say it, they could get a potentially better player than the Brazilian for lesser the price.

One of them is Thomas Lemar, who could be available for £80-90m - which is still a lot of money. The Frenchman might be a left-footed player in contrast to Coutinho’s right, but he has the same creativity and the directness of the former Inter man.

This is why signing him makes sense as he could play on the left-side of a 3-man midfield or in his favoured position as an attacking midfielder.

#4 Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid)

Kovacic would be a brilliant signing

When Inter Milan lost Coutinho, they signed Kovacic as a replacement. They saw him as someone who could be better than the Brazilian. While Kovacic might not yet be a first-teamer with Real Madrid, he has the ability to be better than Coutinho.

However, it is unlikely that Madrid would sell such a precious talent to Liverpool, regardless of the money offered, but like the saying goes: everyone has a price.

For someone who spends most of his time on the bench, a bid of around £90m could entice Los Blancos, who are also reportedly pursuing Neymar and the money Liverpool offer could actually help in chasing the PSG star.

#3 Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid)

Ceballos has bags of talent but needs regular game time

Spending money wisely is something that helps clubs reach the top.

For example, Bayern Munich are a pioneer when it comes to making shrewd buys. The Bavarians’ record signing; Corentin Tolisso was bought for only £37.5m.

This brings us to the purpose of this slider: Liverpool signing Dani Ceballos. The Spaniard, who won the U21 Euro Player of the Tournament award, hasn’t been able to get minutes at Madrid and is reportedly willing to move to Liverpool.

And he won’t even cost much as a bid of, at max, £30m would be able to lure him from the capital club. And that's as shrewd a signing as it could get.

The Spaniard has bags of creativity and vertical movement ability. He can see out defenders like they didn't exist and has an uncanny skill to score goals when they matter the most: like he did for the Blancos by scoring 2 goals in his first start to give them a 2-1 win against Deportivo.

#2 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)

Oblak is an assured figure in front of the sticks

This is actually making the rounds right now—and why not? After all, Oblak has a £88m release clause and the Reds have the money to make a bid for the Atletico Madrid shot-stopper.

The thing is, Liverpool have helped themselves a lot with the acquisition of van Dijk. Their defence is almost sorted, but their goalkeeper conundrum still remains.

As a result, they have to sign someone to guard the posts. While Oblak would be a very expensive purchase, he would actually be able to hold the goalkeeping spot for at least 10 years at Merseyside.

This actually makes it a very good investment. There is also no chance that Oblak could come for less than his release clause as the Rojiblancos would not be swayed by a £60-70m bid.

#1 Adrien Rabiot (PSG)

Rabiot is a highly talented midfielder

I guess it is safe to say that Liverpool’s defence and goalkeeping quagmire has been so high that people don’t talk much about the other apparent problem that the Reds have: defensive midfield. While James Milner puts in good shifts when he plies his trade there, he is simply not world class.

And Liverpool needs someone world-class in that position for the team to click.

Adrien Rabiot can be just that player. The left-footed Frenchman is perhaps one of the most underrated midfield talents in the world and does his job quietly within the shadows without much fuss.

He is exactly the kind of player Liverpool need to challenge for titles and Klopp could do much worse than attempt to sign him.