Jurgen Klopp has responded to claims that Barcelona have been set a price to sign Liverpool superstar Philippe Coutinho during the January transfer window.
According to Spanish publication Sport, Barcelona are eyeing to launch an initial offer of €130m (£114.7m, $155m) to tempt Liverpool to sell Coutinho in January.
This news comes after Barcelona’s failure to rope in Coutinho during the summer transfer window.
Barcelona were desperate to sign Coutinho over the summer but despite repeated attempts the La Liga giants failed to convince the Reds to sell their most prized asset.
The Brazilian had handed in an official transfer request but Liverpool turned down Barcelona’s three back-to-back bids for Coutinho and he ended up remaining at Anfield and has now displayed good form for the Premier League club.
Barcelona are still keen on roping in the Brazilian with Coutinho reportedly desperate to join Lionel Messi and Co. at the Nou Camp.
When Klopp was asked about reports claiming that Liverpool have named a price for Coutinho, the German refused to be drawn into the talks, stating that there is nothing to say about it and it is just few newspapers in Spain that are running the story.
Klopp went to insist that Coutinho is an integral part of his plans for the season and they have never thought of letting him leave in the near future.
“Named a price? Interesting,” Klopp said laughing, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo. “There is absolutely nothing to say about this. Of course Phil is still essential for us. Should we stop thinking about him in the moment just because there are more stories about him in the newspapers in Spain?”
Klopp refused to answer when asked which players could leave Anfield in Janaury, but revealed that he is looking forward to new signings.
“I cannot give an answer for that now. A lot of things could happen,” the German boss added.
“Maybe one or two players will tell me they want to make a move and go somewhere else. If that happens then we would have to consider that and make our decisions.
“As long as we have the opportunity to do something [sign someone] then we should think about it.”
Barcelona identified Coutinho as their top target in the summer, but boss Ernesto Valverde said that it is ‘damaging’ to discuss about players with whom the club has been linked with.
Valverde said: “The problem is we’ve been speaking about players for a long time who are not part of the club. There was a lot of talk during the close season.
“Right now, we can’t sign anybody, so let’s concentrate on what we’ve got now. It’s damaging to us to discuss these things when the market is closed. When we get to the market, I probably won’t want to discuss these things, either!
“At the moment, Coutinho is not one of my players. I want to worry about my players and the game we have [against Celta Vigo on Saturday].”
Meanwhile, reports in France have claimed that PSG have joined Barcelona in the race to sign Liverpool’s most prized asset.
Spanish newspaper Sport had earlier claimed that Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian held talks with with PSG’s sporting director Antero Henrique at FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards in London on Monday.
PSG are monitoring the availability of the Brazilian star and have reportedly asked his agent to inform them about offers coming from Barcelona.