London, Feb. 3 (IANS): Liverpool FC coach Jurgen Klopp has defended star winger Philippe Coutinho’s move to Spanish football giants FC Barcelona, although he acknowledged that he would have liked to keep him at the English Premier League (EPL) club.
At a press conference, Klopp said Liverpool’s loaned players such as Jon Flanagan and Lazar Markovic were seeking more minutes, reports Efe.
“We did what we thought was right. Not everything was in our hands. Would we have preferred to keep Phil Coutinho? Yes, of course, I think everybody knows that,” he said.
After months of rumours about him moving to Barcelona, Brazilian attacking midfielder Coutinho joined the Catalan club during the winter transfer window, reportedly for 160 million euros ($198.6 million), on a contract that includes a 400-million-euro ($498.5 million) buyout clause.
The German coach said that English forward Daniel Sturridge left Liverpool on loan to West Bromwich Albion seeking more minutes with his eyes on the upcoming World Cup.
“Daniel wanted to leave as well and we have, with Roberto, Dom and Danny Ings, three players in that position, plus maybe Mo Salah on a specific day can play it as well. So that made sense as well (and) that’s why we did the business we did,” he added.
