Could Coutinho's departure be the reason for Liverpool's dip in performance?

Philippe Coutinho Correia was the finest performer Liverpool FC have produced in the last 5 years (alongside Luis Suarez). The Brazilian playmaker arrived at Anfield Road in January 2013 from Internazionale and had taken the English Premier League by storm with his cutting-edge dribbling and fine vision. A thirst for long distance goals sees him at the top of the list of Premier League goalscorers from outside the box since his arrival (19), followed by Christian Eriksen (15) and Yaya Toure(14).

When a club as glorious as FC Barcelona come knocking, the loyalty of players begins to falter, undoubtedly. A twice LFC Player of the year, Coutinho failed to acquire any major silverware throughout his Liverpool career.

Neymar left Barcelona for PSG in the summer of 2017

With Spanish Maestro Andres Iniesta losing his prime playmaking skills due to age, Barcelona was on the hunt for a new playmaker to hold the midfield along with Sergio Busquets. Having had a successful business with Liverpool, for the transfers of Javier Mascherano and Luis Suarez, Coutinho seemed the perfect replacement. Due to Coutinho's ability to play both as central attacking midfielder and winger, he could play both Iniesta's role and Neymar's.

After a heavy transfer window in the summer of 2017, with Philippe Coutinho handing in a transfer request, only to be turned down by FSG, the Brazilian finally paved his way to the Camp Nou, becoming the second costliest transfer in the world and breaking the English league transfer record, for €120 million (excluding bonuses).

New Barcelona Signing Philippe Coutinho Unveiled

With Manchester City going undefeated in the league, it seemed like an awful time for Jurgen Klopp to lose his star player. But the Liverpool side who was thrashed 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium, finally ended Pep Guardiola's unbeaten streak in the league in a seven-goal thriller, ending 4-3 in favour of Liverpool. Summer signing Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain was the breakout star in the match as he took the field by storm with his energy and smashed the opening goal of the match from outside the box. Another summer signing, Andrew Robertson shone in the Left Back position and seemed like a good fit for the team. It really seemed that even though Coutinho left, the team still had the firepower to tear any defense apart.

The glory was short lived as they followed the Anfield triumph with losses to Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion, both matches having the underdog as the winner. The loss to West Bromwich Albion saw Liverpool being knocked out of the FA Cup. According to many journalists and Pundits, it is the lack of creativity in the midfield that is costing the team.

Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion - The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round

Wijnaldum, Can, and Chamberlain have been good, but none can provide the defense tearing passes that Coutinho often came up with. Virgil van Dijk has also not been up to the mark with his defensive duties after his debut for Liverpool against Everton where he scored the winning header. Jordan Henderson was injured for the past month, but not many people have faith in his skill as a holding midfielder anymore, following a string of bad performances.With Naby Keita coming in the summer of 2018, Liverpool has some glimmer of hope, but Keita also plays as a holding midfielder. Jurgen Klopp needs to recruit a playmaker at the midfield for his forward line to shine. With an exciting attack trio of Firmino, Salah, and Mane up ahead, Liverpool needs to make sure the defense is sorted in the following window, and a new goalkeeper is added to the squad. Mignolet and Karius have not been at their best in any department. It's time FSG break the bank for a good ball stopper. With a few influential signings, Liverpool will be a real title contender and won't just have to settle for a Top-4 place.

Jurgen Klopp has a huge task at hand