Liverpool will not be winning a Premier League title anytime soon if they sell Coutinho to Barcelona, that is according to club legend Steve Nicol.
The Brazilian has been heavily linked with a move to the Nou Camp in recent days since Neymar sealed his record-breaking move from Barcelona to Paris-Saint Germain.
Although it is very difficult for any player to turn down the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, Nicol has demanded that his former club to stand firm and not sell their prized asset.
When you bring your kids up and they start moaning and get the hump, you don't just give in because it would make them feel better, do you? You don't.
For me this is going to be a defining time, particularly for the Fenway Group and their ownership, and it's going to be a defining time for the next five or six years because if Liverpool want to win the Premier League, they have to make sure that they keep Coutinho, because basically they would have to start again
Having bought Mohamed Salah from Roma for £37million , Liverpool have failed to bring in two of their top targets so far this summer.
Naby Keita from Red Bull Leipzig won't be arriving at Anfield as the German club have dug their heals in and are not willing to sell, while Virgil Van Djyk's move from Southampton to Merseyside stalled when Liverpool were reported to the Premier League for illegally tapping up the player.
The optimism around the club seems to have all but faded due to the speculation surrounding Coutinho and the failure of the club's hierarchy to land any significant top talent other than Salah.
Liverpool kick off their season away to Watford this weekend and they will be hoping on an improvement on a fourth place finish from last season but competition amongst the top six teams already looks ferociously competitive.
