Liverpool Transfer News: Mario Lemina U-Turn Revealed, Philippe Coutinho Latest

Liverpool reportedly pulled out of a deal to sign Mario Lemina on the final day of the transfer window, paving the way for the Marseille man to join Juventus instead.

According to “reports” cited by Joe Rimmer of the Liverpool Echo, the Reds were ready to bring in the Gabon international as a replacement for Lucas Leiva. But manager Brendan Rodgers decided not to let the Brazilian join Besiktas, meaning a move for Lemina was deemed unnecessary.

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As noted by Rimmer, Juventus moved quickly to snap the 22-year-old up on loan and they have an option to sign Lemina on a permanent deal for £7 million at the end of the season. Here’s a look at why the Italian champions moved quickly for the Gabon star:

Lemina has all the attributes to be a quality defensive midfield player, but as noted here by OptaJean, he’s still relatively inexperienced:

The holding midfield position is certainly one of concern for the Reds. Aside from Lucas, there’s not another natural option in that area of the pitch.

There have been signs in Liverpool’s last two league games, defeats to West Ham United and Manchester United, that teams are beginning to exploit this soft centre.

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As noted by Bleacher Report’s Liverpool correspondent Matt Ladson, the Reds could do with an injection of quality in the defensive positions:

"

Just watched the Martial goal again. Shows exactly why each of the defensive triangle of Lucas, Lovren and Skrtel aren't good enough.

— Matt Ladson (@mattladson) September 13, 2015"

Long term, Lemina may have been the answer, so if the Reds did pull the plug on a potential move, then it was a peculiar decision. A season on loan would have given Rodgers time to run the rule over the player, to learn from Lucas and for Liverpool to make a decision on whether to purchase him at the end of the campaign.

Philippe Coutinho Focused on Reds

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Philippe Coutinho seems to have his mind focused solely on hauling Liverpool up the Premier League, despite former skipper Steven Gerrard revealing concerns that the midfielder could be snapped up by Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Coutinho sat out Liverpool’s last game against Manchester United because of suspension and the Reds were devoid of the attacking spark he so often brings to the starting XI. But the mercurial Brazilian seems intent on making up for the minutes he’s missed out on, per Chris Shaw of the Liverpool website:

"

It feels bad to be out and not being available to be selected and help the team but we have to look ahead now and get over these two recent games we lost.

There are lessons to be learned so we can move on and avoid making the same mistakes. We have a great team here and we know we can improve - and that's what we're trying to do right now.

"

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After selling Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling during the last two summers, Liverpool have forged a worrying precedent for letting their best players leave the club. Coutinho is certainly worthy of that mantle at the moment and there are few who would deny he has the talent to fit in at either of the aforementioned La Liga giants.

As OptaJoe notes here, Coutinho seems to be relishing the role of being the team’s talisman:

Gerrard, like every Liverpool fan, will be concerned should Real or Barca make a move for the Reds No. 10. But the aforementioned quotes paint the picture of a player who is set on pushing Liverpool on to great things this term. 

Having signed a new contract earlier this year, Coutinho is clearly content with life on Merseyside and if he was to be sold, you suspect Liverpool could command a fee that’d measure up to what they received for Sterling and Suarez. There’s a massive onus on the Selecao star at Anfield this season, though, and it’s going to be intriguing to see how he handles the responsibility.