Stats show Philippe Coutinho is EPL’s Player of the Season (so far)

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool scores their fourth goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Hull City at Anfield on September 24, 2016 in Liverpool, England. 

Philippe Coutinho is stealing the Premier League spotlight, in a 2016-17 season stacked with some of football’s top names.

The 24-year-old has been in inspired form for Liverpool this season and exclusive stats revealed by fantasy football game oulala.com show that the Reds winger is ‘statistically’ the best player in the English top-flight after the opening seven games.

The Brazilian has been vital to five wins which see Jurgen Klopp’s side sitting fourth on the table. He has recorded three goals from seven appearances – including a brace in the opening game against Arsenal and a goal against Hull, while also proving assists in the 5-1 demolition of the Tigers and against Chelsea.

A total of 29 shots has Coutinho sitting second in terms of total attempts, while he is also inside the league’s top 10 in terms of successful take-ons.

The Brazilian ranks 11th for both key passes and created chances for teammates, illustrating just how vital he is to the Reds’ hopes of scoring goals.

Will Coutinho’s form continue to lead Liverpool to the summit of English football?

Ray Parlour: It's not rocket science, Lacazette and a defender could be the difference in Arsenal's title challenge

The forwards Arsenal have scouted ahead of the transfer window

Arsene Wenger doesn’t need a rocket scientist to work out where their priorities in the remaining week of the transfer market should be, according to Arsenal legend Ray Parlour.

However the ‘Romford Pele’ has warned his former manager that even bringing in the centre-back and striker the club need may not be enough to secure a first Premier League title since 2004 as the top flight’s financial arms race grows ever more fierce.

Both Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool have made significant moves in the transfer window since May, when Arsenal announced the £35million signing of Granit Xhaka. At the Emirates progress has been rather more sedate, with young centre-back Rob Holding and Japanese forward Takuma Asano the only arrivals over the past few weeks.

Just four days before their season begins and the need for a centre-back has become all the more pressing, with pre-season injuries to Per Mertesacker and Gabriel leaving Wenger with just one senior centre-back. It is a problem that Parlour believes must be addressed swiftly.

“It’s not rocket science for Wenger,” Parlour told Standard Sport.“The midfield looks really strong but they don’t have those options at the back.

“Holding’s come in and done well, I know for a fact that the coaches are really pleased with. But he’s still a young lad, you can’t rely on him. Calum Chambers, again, he might play at the weekend but he needs experienced players to learn from.

“Laurent Koscielny will be back very soon but with Mertesacker and Gabriel being out for a while it’s vital they get someone in now.

“And there’s been lots of reports about Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi, Alexandre Lacazette at Lyon – someone of that quality could be the difference. The midfield creates chances; they just need another striker who can finish them off.”

Arsenal are in the market in both positions but are not expected to bring in either of their leading targets, Valencia centre-back Shkodran Mustafi and Lacazette, before the deadline for registering players for their first game of the season at home to Liverpool. Any new signing would have to be completed by midday on Friday.

In spite of the relatively glacial pace at which Arsenal’s transfer business has moved in recent weeks Arsene Wenger has been keen to remind his critics that only one side outperformed him last season.

And Parlour believes that whether or not Arsenal do bring in the big-money signings that their fans demand may not dictate whether they find themselves as champions in May, if they can take inspiration from Leicester.

He added: “Some new arrivals would certainly give them a chance, but would two signings be enough? I don’t know. It’s so wide open.

“They have to believe they can win it, I’m sure Arsene Wenger told them on the first day of pre-season, ‘you have to believe’.

“Leicester have opened the league’s eyes. Yes they had a bit of luck along the way but they showed to any other club that it can be done. Of course Arsenal have a chance if Leicester do.”

The Southampton Connection: Liverpool signing from Saints again isn’t a bad thing

Liverpool’s imminent signing of Southampton’s Sadio Mane isn’t yet proving to be universally popular, but past evidence suggests there is no reason to be negative.

The 24-year-old looks set to complete a medical on Merseyside on Monday, sealing a £30 million move to join Liverpool in the process.

While plenty of Reds supporters have expressed their pleasure at the move, there is still some predictable pessimism surrounding the transfer.

Many have claimed that Mane is simply another Southampton player moving to Anfield, who is not good enough to take Jurgen Klopp‘s team to the next level.

There is a general feeling in the eyes of some that Liverpool’s Saints signings have not been successful, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Rickie Lambert was a gamble that ended up backfiring by Brendan Rodgers, but other than the veteran striker, the moves have turned out to be positive.

Clyne

Nathaniel Clyne was acquired last summer, with the 25-year-old brought in to be an upgrade on the increasingly erratic Glen Johnson.

To sign Clyne for £12.5million was a superb business piece of business, and while there were certain doubts that unfairly work against any English player, he immediately showed what an excellent purchase he was.

No Liverpool player performed with more consistency last season, and in a campaign littered with some appalling displays, Clyne didn’t have one really bad day at the office.

He shone most in a defensive sense, reading the game superbly and making endless perfectly-timed tackles and interceptions, while the attacking side of his game also shone at times.

You only have to look at his fantastic performance for England against Slovakia at Euro 2016 to see what he is capable of, and he will be a key Reds player for the next several years.

Not many have raised as many doubts with Clyne as they have other Southampton signings, in fairness, and it would take an extremely harsh critic to take issue with the right-back’s impact at Anfield so far.

Lovren

There was a time when it was wholly understandable to label Dejan Lovren a complete disaster.

His first season at the club was very disappointing, having been tipped to become Liverpool’s new rock at the back, and he started 2015/16 in more disappointing fashion.

But the Croatian has really blossomed since Klopp took charge last October, and was unquestionably one of his side’s best players after the turn of the year.

Lovren started to look every bit the centre-back who starred for the Saints in 2013/14, and his £20 million price-tag suddenly looked at least somewhat justified.

At just 26 still, the big defender should only improve further in the next few years, and he has shown he is more than capable of becoming a regular starter for the Reds.

Like many players when they move to a club of Liverpool’s stature, he took time to settle, but he now looks like a definite success story in the making.

Lallana

Adam Lallana will always be a divisive footballer, such is his flamboyant, slightly unpredictable style of play, and while he is yet to be sensational for the Reds, he is continuing to improve.

£25 million was a lot to spend on the Englishman back in 2014, even though he was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award in 2013/14, and he took time to find his stride.

A fairly anemic first year did little to silence the Lallana doubters, and despite plenty of aesthetically-pleasing tricks and flicks, there was not enough substance in front of goal.

Klopp’s arrival has really brought the best out of the 28-year-old, though, and by the end of the season, he didn’t look remotely out of place alongside the brilliant Brazilian duo of Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino.

His trickery, movement and work-rate were all coming to the fore more regularly, and his end product in the final third was also improving.

There are still improvements to be made in that respect, but Lallana is a class act who simply cannot be dubbed a “failure” of a signing.

Mane

This leads us to Mane, who is now in exactly the same position Clyne, Lovren and Lallana found themselves in when they signed for Liverpool.

The reaction to him joining has been lukewarm in some quarters, but Mane has the potential to be more exciting than any other Southampton signing the club have made.

Blessed with pace, a guaranteed flow of goals and assists and a relentless team ethic, the Senegalese forward is exactly what Klopp is after.

You only have to look at the impact he made against Liverpool last season to see what he is capable of, with the 24-year-old scoring four times against us.

There is a snobbery that can surround football fans, and bringing in players from Southampton is less likely to be as exciting as if they arrived from a La Liga or Bundesliga team of similar quality.

Were Mane joining from Schalke for such a fee, or a foreign team of similar stature, there would be far more excitement. He’s scored 25 and assisted 14 in his two years in England.

Southampton are a good team in their own right – they finished ahead of Liverpool last season – and it is players like Clyne, Lovren, Lallana and Mane who have taken them to the next level in the last few years.

Mane might not be the world-renowned game-changer that the supporters are looking for, but dismissing him because he plays for a fairly unfashionable side is all wrong.

It’s a myth that Saints signings have been a failure for Liverpool. It doesn’t matter where they’re signed from, as long as they fit in and do well at Anfield.

Philippe Coutinho to PSG: Liverpool star gives ‘positive’ reaction after contact from Ligue 1 champions over £46m move

Reports in France say PSG have made Brazilian a top target

PHILIPPE COUTINHO reacted ‘positively’ when informed about a possible move by Paris Saint-Germain, according to reports in France.

The Liverpool forward, voted the club’s fans and players’ player of the year twice in a row, had another fantastic season for the Reds.

However, French magazine Le 10 Sport report that Coutinho is seen as an excellent option to replace departing talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Philippe Coutinho is wanted by PSG, according to reports in France PA:Press Association

The Brazilian has been named the club's player of the year for the last two seasons AP:Associated Press

With the Swede set to leave the Parc des Princes this summer, PSG are searching for a marquee signing.

Coutinho is one of a handful of names identified as a potential replacement for thr 34-year-old striker.

Manchester United’s Anthony Martial, Chelsea winger Eden Hazard, Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku have all been mentioned as being on a shortlist to replace Ibrahimovic.

The report claims that PSG have already made contact with Coutinho’s entourage and received a ‘positive’ response.

The 23-year-old wants to play Champions League football but Jurgen Klopp’s side failed to secure a place in Europe’s top competition last season.

Philippe Coutinho will play at the Copa America with Brazil AP:Associated Press

PSG are looking for a marquee signing to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic

PSG have also apparently said they would be willing to pay around £46million to bring Coutinho to France.

One potential hiccup is that the Ligue 1 champions have already used up all three of the non-EU slots in their squad.

That would mean one of Maxwell or Lucas Moura would have to leave first.

Pele admits fondness for Liverpool's Phiippe Coutinho

The legendary Brazilian admits he follows his compatriot's Liverpool showings.

Quoted by The Mirror, Brazil icon Pele has named Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho as the player that he regularly keeps an eye out for in the Premier League.

The Brazilian playmaker has arguably been the Reds' best player since Luis Suarez left for Barcelona almost two years, establishing himself as a real fan's favourite at Anfield.

Although Pele admits that he does not get to watch as much English football as he would like to, the 75-year-old revealed that his compatriot is indeed one of the Brazilians whose progress he tries to follow.

"I travel so much, I don’t get the opportunity to watch too many Premier League matches,” the legendary striker is quoted as saying by The Mirror.

“But I watch some of the big games, the highlights and always the best goals. Coutinho is a player that I follow, along with many other Brazilians that play in the league."

In terms of stats, the 23-year-old ace is enjoying his best season as a Liverpool player, netting 10 goals in all competitions and setting up another five.

He perhaps took a while longer than some of his team-mates to adapt to life under Brendan Rodgers's successor Jurgen Klopp, but Coutinho has been one of their best players in recent months.

But Pele will surely also be interested in watching more of fellow Brazilian Roberto Firmino in the coming seasons, with the 24-year-old looking very promising indeed.

Will Coutinho attract interest this summer?

Manchester United Draw Hands Liverpool Ideal Chance to End Season in Style

ANFIELD, Liverpool — Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side scraped past FC Augsburg in the Europa League round of 32, progressing 1-0 on aggregate courtesy of James Milner's early penalty in the second leg on Thursday night.

The Reds progressed to the last 16 of European competition for the first time since 2011—where they will face English rivals Manchester United.

Friday's draw for the last 16 saw Klopp's side avoid a long trip in Europe in favor of a 30-mile trip to their north-west rivals.

Having already lost twice to Louis van Gaal's side this season, Liverpool will have revenge on their minds.

Speaking at his post-match press conference shortly after the draw, Klopp said that he had told his staff he wanted to draw United, saying, "It gives us a chance to make it right [after defeat at Anfield]."

Defeat to Augsburg on Thursday night—or indeed a score draw—would have seen Liverpool eliminated from Europe and their season pretty much over by Monday, after Sunday's League Cup final. Instead, the draw with Man United provides a huge doubleheader and an opportunity to begin an exciting end to the season.

Augsburg

As ever, there are two ways of looking at this game and tie overall. On the one hand, Liverpool progressed only due to a somewhat dubious penalty against a team placed 13th in their own league.

On the other hand, Liverpool created enough chances to have put the match well beyond their opponents by half-time at Anfield, and on another day they may have been at least three goals to the good.

There were certainly plenty of opportunities created, with Augsburg goalkeeper Marwin Hitz making several fantastic saves to deny Liverpool's attacking triumvirate of Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho.

The trio had never played together prior to the 6-0 thrashing of Aston Villa, but Klopp has now been able to field all three together in three successive games—Sunday's League Cup final at Wembley Stadium will be the fourth.

For Sturridge, it was the first time in 11 months he'd started three Liverpool games in a row. He played just over 65 minutes, with Divock Origi looking lively after replacing the Englishman.

While it wasn't an emphatic result, Liverpool progressed, kept a third successive clean sheet and saw their key players come through the game unscathed—something Klopp was clearly happy about post-match.

"After the game with a 1-0, I am completely fine, as I know there are no injuries," he said, explaining why both Coutinho and Sturridge were subbed. "They are very important for us, but we need them in best shape, and you can only get this from training and matches."

Milner's well-dispatched penalty proved the only goal of the game, but there were plenty of positives on display in the opening 70 minutes when Liverpool fashioned many clear-cut chances, with nice link-up play evident between the attacking trio and left-back Alberto Moreno regularly involved.

Such signs will be great for Klopp ahead of Sunday's League Cup final—and indeed the latter stages of the European competition.

Man United

The big games will now arrive thick and fast for Liverpool. Sunday's final is followed by the visit of Man City to Anfield in the Premier League on Wednesday, while eight days later they'll host Manchester United in the first leg of the last 16 of the Europa League. The Reds then travel to Old Trafford in the return leg a week later.

Liverpool have been very poor in both their performances against Van Gaal's side this season. Indeed, the display at Old Trafford was one of the worst under former manager Brendan Rodgers and provided the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for many supporters.

What most disappointed Liverpool supporters is that their side have failed to perform against their biggest rivals in the last three matches—despite United being hugely out of form and, in the eyes of many, there for the taking.

The scrappy encounter at Anfield last month saw Wayne Rooney hit the only goal, with Liverpool creating chances but not taking them—a familiar story in the last 18 months.

They also found David De Gea in typically good form to deny them. The Spaniard is the difference-maker in such games. Liverpool will need to improve their accuracy and take their chances if they are to beat the United No. 1 and progress to the quarter-finals.

Being drawn with the second leg away from home is not such a huge disadvantage for Liverpool, who have often looked nervy and anxious when playing at Anfield of late.

Much has been made of the lack of winning know-how in the Reds squad—repeatedly losing on the big occasion—but these two games against United and Sunday's League Cup final give them the opportunity to right the wrongs of defeats such as the FA Cup semi-final last season.

Writing in his exclusive column for the Telegraph, Steven Gerrard said Klopp can make the difference in such games.

Gerrard speaks of former managers and coaching staff such as Phil Thompson, Gerard Houllier, Kenny Dalglish and Rafa Benitez who had won trophies prior to arriving at Liverpool and used that experience to achieve success with the Reds.

Klopp brings winning know-how that Liverpool had missed in recent years. "His obsession, just as it was for Houllier, Benitez and Dalglish, will be about how to bring that trophy to Anfield," wrote Gerrard.

Progress

Should Liverpool overcome United in two legs, they'll be eyeing another final this season—the Europa League final in Basel, Switzerland, in May.

The Europa League may be Europe's second competition, but this season it provides a place in next year's Champions League for the winner for the first time. It means Liverpool can afford to put all their focus on these games and use the Premier League to give young squad players an opportunity.

Winning a first piece of silverware since 2012 would be progress for the club, and achieving qualification for next year's Champions League would certainly end the season in style. 

Exclusive: Liverpool and Man City legends reveal all on Capital One Cup final showdown

And it is not too long ago that Liverpool would normally kick off their cup campaigns after City had been knocked out – so great has the gap between the clubs been.

But the tables have turned as the two approach what is a deeply sentimental occasion for both sides.

For City, it represents the first leg of an unlikely treble which would be the perfect parting gift for Manuel Pellegrini who will make way for Pep Guardiola this summer.

In the other dugout stands Jurgen Klopp, attempting to win his first trophy in English football after replacing Brendan Rodgers in October.

The contrast between the two could hardly be more obvious even if they do share a healthy suspicion of the British media: Klopp’s patience has of course not had the time to wear quite so thin.

And the contrast between the clubs does not stop there.

The fans on the day will each have a club legend cheering them on: Liverpool will have John Barnes while Manchester City will have Shaun Goater.

Both are worshipped by season ticket holders and armchair fans alike but standing their records alongside each other tells you all you need to know.

Goater scored 84 goals across three different divisions and helped City into the Premier League with back-to-back promotion campaigns.

Barnes won two top-flight titles, two FA Cups, a League Cup and scored at the Maracana to beat Brazil.

And the pair watching the game will probably have two very different experiences.

“They’re playing for me as a fan now,” says Goater, who only ever reached Wembley as a Man City player when they played Gillingham in the Division Two play-off final.

“It’s very special for Manchester City to be making finals now.

“The players in the last few years have been winning finals and trophies and now they have a great opportunity to win another.

“They face great opposition in Liverpool but it’s still a chance.”

Barnes meanwhile was part of that Liverpool side that Goater could only have dreamed of playing in.

The fact that the 1995 League Cup final against Bolton does not live particularly long in Barnes’ memory is a testament to his success in a Liverpool shirt.

On the day Liverpool turned over Bolton of Divison One without much fuss.

“The favourites tag didn’t weigh heavy on us because we were confident in our ability,” Barnes says.

“You'd always rather be favourites because it means you’re in a better team.

“I remember it as the Steve McManaman cup final [he scored twice in a 2-1 win].

“I don’t think we played particularly well.

“Bolton made it hard for us but Steve pretty much single-handedly won the cup final for us.”

Goater’s Wembley experience was rather different.

The game was goalless until the 81st minute when Gillingham took a lead which they doubled six minutes later.

But Kevin Horlock got one back in the last minute of normal time.

“Normally you’re in the zone and you don’t necessarily notice the fans but I have to say at Wembley, there was that period in the game when City looked out of it,” Goater said.

“But then we scored a goal to get to equalise and then I think five minutes of added time went up and the crowd just lifted.

“People started coming back to their seats.

“Every ball that we controlled, that we passed or that we moved forward got this positive surge from the crowd.

“It was like they grabbed the ball and socked it into the goal.

“Certainly we heard them at that point because every touch, every tackle and every move got that extra bit of noise.

“It made such a difference.”

It must have done as Paul Dickov scored in the dying seconds to equalise and City went up on penalties.

Even the most excitable of fans on that day cannot have dreamed that less than 20 years later they’d be flying back from a Champions League Kiev to go to the cup final at Wembley before resuming their title race.

Of course, there is the small matter of Liverpool’s 4-1 win at the Etihad, one of the early triumphs of the Klopp era.

“I’m sure Man City won’t go into that game and underestimate Liverpool,” Barnes says.

“People may look at the Capital One Cup as the third trophy but it’s still a trophy.

“And I think it’s taken on added significance and the fans have shown that.

“When Arsene Wenger was under pressure because Arsenal hadn’t won a trophy, what he wouldn’t have given to win the Capital One Cup or indeed any trophy.

“Clubs are taking it much more seriously because the fans have made them take it seriously.”

And it is now the fans in red who will be desperate to disturb the gathering dust in their trophy cabinet.

One major trophy in ten years - the League Cup itself - is not what Liverpool fans are used to.

“It’s two attacking sides and two defences you can get at so I can see it being a high-scoring game or at least a very open one with lots of chances,” Barnes says.

“Of course the fans will have a big part to play because Jurgen Klopp has been talking about the Liverpool fans ever since he came.”

They are the words of a champion. One who knows success and failure and treats those two imposters just the same.

Goater meanwhile cannot shake the feeling of disappointment. 

The paranoia that haunts football fans that even when it’s all going well, disaster is just round the corner.

“Liverpool in recent games have started to put together some good results and wins and of course they dismantled us 4-1 at home,” Goater says.

“And we’re a little bit wounded having played Tottenham and lost a huge game in the league. This is where the doubt comes from.

“We certainly have to raise ourselves for this game and prove why we’re favourites to win the Capital One Cup.”

John Barnes and Shaun Goater alongside Capital One will be helping fans make ‘the difference’ at the Capital One Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday, February 28.