Philippe Coutinho has hailed Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk as the two Liverpool player’s pivotal to the team’s future success.
Wide forward Salah has made a huge impact since joining from Roma last summer and centre-back Van Dijk became the club’s £75million record signing when he joined from Southampton at the start of the January window.
In an interview with the Daily Mail chronicling hour by hour the final stages of his £145million transfer to Barcelona, Coutinho insisted that he will remain a Liverpool supporter and insisted the team he is leaving behind have the potential to win big trophies.
“They are in a healthy position, with very, very good footballers,” the Brazilian playmaker said.
‘The signing of Virgil van Dijk is a statement, Mo Salah is a wonderful footballer. I look forward to watching them win trophies and to celebrating their success. I would not have left for any other club, but Barcelona is something different. It is a dream, a place of magic for me.”
OPINION
It is intriguing that Coutinho has singled out Salah and Van Dijk as the two Liverpool players to watch as he raved about the calibre of his former teammates. The 25-year-old was the conductor of the Liverpool orchestra that has played some scintillating football in recent months and he leaves on a high after scoring seven goals in his last eight matches. Salah has also been in sensational form this season, scoring a remarkable 23 goals from 29 matches in all competitions to put him in contention for the player of the year award. In the Premier League, his minutes per goal ratio is even better than Harry Kane, whose 18-goal tally is one above the Egyptian’s in the competition. Van Dijk has only played one Liverpool match to date, a memorable one in which he scored the winner in the Merseyside derby, but it is gratifying for the club’s fans that Coutinho regards him as a player who can take the team to the next level.