Blood Red: Philippe Coutinho special - will he return to Liverpool? And do they need him?

He may have two La Liga titles, a Copa Del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup to his name, but privately at least, Philippe Coutinho must have regrets at the way his move from Liverpool to Barcelona has worked out. But while the man Reds fans affectionately dubbed the Little Magician has struggled in Catalonia, back on Merseyside his former club have gone from strength to strength, a rapid and significant improvement that culminated in the triumphant Champions League campaign, which of course, included that famous semi-final success over Coutinho’s Barcelona. To all intents and purposes, Liverpool have moved on from the Brazil international, but if the comments made by his agent Kia Joorabchian are anything to go by, Coutinho hasn’t quite moved on from Liverpool. So much so that if the 27-year-old does indeed call time on his 18-month stay with Barcelona this summer, the Reds would be his only destination of choice if he was to return to the Premier League. But do Liverpool need him? Would he be welcomed back? And where would he fit into Jurgen Klopp’s system? A poll on the ECHO website asking readers whether they’d like to see Coutinho back at Anfield has so far attracted more than 50,000 votes. Interestingly, and overwhelmingly, 68% of the people who voted want him back. So with that in mind, we sat down for a very special Blood Red podcast, hosted by Sean Bradbury, and featuring Paul Gorst, Connor Dunn and Dan Kay, to answer those aforementioned questions and more. Enjoy. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices