Coutinho's departure to Barcelona has once again highlighted the limits of Premier League clubs compared to the super teams in world football.
The Brazil was undoubtedly keen on moving to Barcelona because of the allure of plying his trade at one of the biggest teams in the world and his high chances of winning major silverware with the Blaugrana.
His exit won't hit Liverpool as hard as Suarez' move to Barca, though. Why? Because Coutinho for all his trickery and influence is replaceable, for a lot less than his reported £142m fee.
Having made a huge amount from Coutinho's sale, the club's hierarchy should now be looking to bolster their ranks by acquiring a replacement for Coutinho, a new goalkeeper and a suitable partner for new signing Virgil Van Dijk, hence; we take a look at players Liverpool could sign to fill the aforementioned roles:
Coutinho's replacement
Like I said before, replacing Coutinho won't be too hard for Liverpool as there's no shortage of influential midfielders in Europe's top five leagues who are also available for an affordable price.
There are quite a number of obvious replacements for Coutinho such as the likes of Thomas Lemar, Julian Draxler, Riyad Mahrez and Alexis Sanchez, but Nabil Fekir, at this time appears to be the perfect replacement for the Brazil international.
Whilst an ACL injury prevented him from taking his rightful place amongst Europe's best midfielders two years ago, he's now back to his best having taken the Ligue 1 by storm this season.
The France international has notched 13 goals and registered six assists in 16 League games thus far. He's by far Lyon's most influential player, but with his impressive performances comes the likelihood of an exit.
Liverpool would do well to snap Fekir up this month given he's currently in remarkable form.
Like Coutinho he's got exceptional dribbling ability, plus he's capable of sending long shots into the back of the net, not as frequently as the Brazil international, though.
Fekir boasts of a 74.67% successful take-on rate, which is significantly higher than Coutinho's which stands at 65%.
Coutinho has created 10 more chances than the France international (40) but Fekir's tally is still pretty decent and could improve in Jurgen Klopp's system.
New Goalkeeper
Despite putting in some decent performances this season, Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius have both had games where they performed horridly.
Mignolet's goalkeeping ability has been in doubt since he arrived at Anfield whilst Loris Karius hasn't done much for Liverpool supporters to have faith in him, and with the club's ambitions seemingly being to secure a top four finish they'll need to acquire a new goalkeeper, but unfortunately, not many clubs will be keen on parting with their number one shot-stopper, hence, Liverpool's options are somewhat limited.
Jack Butland, who has made 55 saves this season, is the best option for Liverpool given he's one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, affordable and is interested in a move to Anfield due in large part to Stoke's dire situation.
The England international would cost the Reds £30m, which is a fair fee for the quality he offers.
New Centre-Back
In a bid to truly solidify their backline following the acquisition of Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton, Liverpool need to sign a new centre-back.
Sefan De Vrij appears to be the most suitable option at the moment, given he's played alongside Van Dijk in the past and could be available for a knockdown price with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.
Liverpool will have to beat Inter Milan to his signature, though, with the Nerazzurri also keen on signing the 25-year-old Dutchman.
De Vrij is a composed centre-back as evidenced by his lack of defensive errors this season. He also has a high work-rate and has made a total of 40 interceptions thus far in the Serie A.
He'd undoubtedly be a great addition to Liverpool's backline as Klopp looks to end his side's defensive woes once and for all.
