Liverpool Transfer News: Latest on Philippe Coutinho, Marko Rog Rumours

Rumours regarding the future of Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho continue to swirl, as he's been linked with a move to La Liga giants Barcelona ever since Blaugrana star Neymar dropped a hint that he'd like to see his compatriot join the club.

The forward recently stated that Coutinho has the necessary “style” to play for the Catalan giants, per Sky Sports (h/t Fox Sports). According to Duncan Castles of the Sunday Times, Barcelona are planning a move for the Liverpool ace.

The 23-year-old joined the Reds in 2013 and has since established himself as the club's main creative outlet, scoring five goals and adding five assists in the Premier League last season, per WhoScored.com.

Liverpool's recent struggles under manager Brendan Rodgers have taken their toll, however, and the Brazilian is often forced to play the role of hero, chasing a late goal.

That in turn has limited what he does on the pitch:

The Reds' shaky start to the campaign was always going to lead to transfer speculation for the club's biggest star, and it's reasonable to think that—should the results not improve—Coutinho would start to consider a move away from Anfield.

If it comes to that, Barcelona is a logical destination given his excellent relationship with Neymar, one of the Catalans' biggest stars. As shared by BBC Sport, the two go way back:

Jack Lusby of This Is Anfield believes a move to the Camp Nou is inevitable for Coutinho, but he argues that the Brazil international should hold off on leaving Liverpool for now:

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This could now become another Suarez-like situation, in which Liverpool cannot force a player operating above their station to stay and waste their career in the Premier League doldrum of a top-six battle.

However, Coutinho is not quite there yet, and Rodgers will no doubt argue down the line that his development is best served at an environment such as Anfield—where Coutinho is adored.

But that creeping sense of inevitability will not dissolve.

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It's hard to disagree with the notion that Coutinho's development has been spectacular at Anfield, and despite his obvious quality, he's still a player who has much to learn. His shooting can still be largely ineffective, per WhoScored.com, and he still has the tendency to drift in and out of matches.

With Liverpool, he gets to be the main playmaker, the man who has the ball at his feet whenever the Reds move forward. His current situation has allowed him to grow as a player, and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps Coutinho's move to the Camp Nou is inevitable, but for now, Anfield is where he belongs.

Marko Rog Eyed Again

According to the Sun's Alan Nixon, the Reds are once again interested in Croatian midfielder Marko Rog. Rodgers wanted to move for the player last season but instead opted to let him continue his development with a different Croatian club, Dinamo Zagreb:

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Top Kop spy Barry Hunter made his latest check on the young Dinamo Zagreb player in the big clash with Hajduk Split last week. Rog was on the Anfield radar last season when he was at Split but they decided to wait until he developed more and he joined Zagreb instead.

Now Liverpool are back on the case for Rog, 20, an industrious midfielder who covers the ground and also scores goals.

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Nixon believes Rog could be available should Zagreb fail to progress to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.

The 20-year-old has already made his debut for Croatia's national team but is being brought along slowly by Zagreb, who have a sterling reputation when it comes to talent development. The likes of Luka Modric and Milan Badelj enjoyed their early successes with the Croatian giants before moving on to bigger things.

A similar scenario is expected for Rog, and while he clearly has the talent to become a superb and dynamic midfielder, he still has much growing to do.

Rodgers reportedly realised this during the summer, when he didn't intervene in his transfer to Zagreb, and the Reds should allow him to continue developing with Zagreb for the next couple of years.

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