OMNISPORT

Liverpool would be getting a good deal if they can get Barcelona to pay £80million for the services of Philippe Coutinho, says former midfielder Danny Murphy. 

Coutinho has emerged as a potential transfer target for the Catalan giants in recent days as the future of Neymar continues to remain uncertain.

Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly set to trigger Neymar's €222m release clause at Camp Nou and Barca could turn to Coutinho to replace the Brazilian forward.

Liverpool have been keen to stress Coutinho is happy at Anfield and has no desire to move to LaLiga, but Murphy believes it would be a good deal for the Premier League club - providing the fee is right.

"There comes a point where if a player expresses a desire to go, there is sense in getting as much money as you can for him," he told talkSPORT.

"If they're talking about £199m for Neymar, you can't put Coutinho in Neymar's league at the moment.

"He's not worth £150m, could they get £100m for him? Maybe.

"If Barca are prepared to pay over £80m for Coutinho, I think that's good business."

And Murphy believes Coutinho leaving would not necessarily weaken Jurgen Klopp's side, particularly if they invested the money wisely.

He added: "I think with [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mane in the wide positions they would be more dynamic. 

"They'd lose a bit of creativity that Coutinho brings, but there are players out there you could get for less money who might give you just as much output.

"Coutinho scored 14 goals last season and that was his best return. If Liverpool rate him at around £100m, what's Dele Alli worth? He's better than Coutinho. Different but better.

"If they get £80m or £90m, you'd think they'd sign someone else. We're hypothesising, but the goals and assists those players get might double or treble what Coutinho was bringing in, and you've also not got a player sat there unhappy.

"I'm not saying Liverpool should get rid of Coutinho, because he's a wonderful footballer and there's no doubt about that.

"But if he wants to go and we get £80m for him, I'd take that."