Liverpool's Jordan Henderson on Philippe Coutinho: ‘Players come and go'
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Published 15/08/2017 at 08:43 GMT
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has admitted that he’s not going to be able to talk Philippe Coutinho out of joining Barcelona.
Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho celebrates scoring their first goal with Jordan Henderson
Image credit: Reuters
Coutinho is believed to want to move to the Catalan club, and Barcelona are reportedly keen on bringing in the Brazilian to replace the departed Neymar. But Liverpool are intent on keeping their star man and have so far refused to buckle under the transfer pressure.
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Brazil's Philippe Coutinho (L) celebrates his goal against Bolivia with teammate Neymar
Image credit: Getty Images
However, ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League tie against Hoffenheim, Henderson has admitted that he’s unable to influence Coutinho's Liverpool future.
“As players, when windows are open, things like this happen. Players come and go,” Henderson said. “You’ve got to expect things like this and focus on what’s important. For us the biggest focus is tomorrow. We’ll stay together and make sure we take a good result back.”
“I don’t think I can influence the situation if I’m totally honest with you. That’s down to Phil and the club. But at the same time I’m good friends with Phil and I have a lot of respect for him. Of course I’m going to talk to him but those conversations will remain private.”
Could the Coutinho saga distract Liverpool from the task at hand against Hoffenheim?
Not according to Henderson, who says the squad don’t need reminding of the importance of the Champions League qualifier:
The focus won’t be affected at all, I can tell you that now. The most important thing is tomorrow. It’s a big game, a big two games for us really. One of the aims last year was to qualify for the Champions League and these two games give us the opportunity. It’s a great opportunity for us and one we look forward to. It’ll be a tough test.
Liverpool take on Hoffenheim in Germany in the first leg on Tuesday before hosting the Bundesliga club at Anfield on August 23.
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