Klopp hit the jackpot with Liverpool’s superstar

Liverpool are pushing toward the Premier League title. It’s far from over, but the Reds have a seven-point lead on Arsenal in second and are showing little sign of suffering the total collapse that would be required for something so significant.

And with the summer, comes the unknown. Arne Slot has worked wonders in reshaping Jurgen Klopp‘s Liverpool to his own design, willing it into a new and more controlled version. However, it’s a plain truth that he is also thriving through the brilliance of Mohamed Salah, the leadership of Virgil van Dijk, the matchless creativity of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

All three of these Anfield heavyweights could be plying their art elsewhere by the start of the 2025/26 season, for they are all entering the final few months of their contracts.

However, they aren’t the only Redmen touted for a summer move. One or two further first-team members could be sold – and for a pretty penny at that.

The player(s) Liverpool could sell in 2025

The coming summer will be one of investment, but that’s not to say that Liverpool won’t be open to cashing in on a superstar, should there be just cause.

Darwin Nunez, for example, is the roadblock between a free-scoring number nine and a fourth season of imbalanced output from an admittedly brilliant frontline. There was recent intrigue in the 25-year-old, who joined Liverpool for a fee rising to £85m in 2022, but FSG could not abide the loss of such an important member of the make-up at the season’s midpoint with it all on the line.

It’s understood that Saudi interest in Nunez was genuine this winter and that offers were even been prepared to exceed €75m (£62m)

. This would present Liverpool with a significant cash influx for a player who has never really lived up to the club-record price tag.

With Luis Diaz playing so much of the campaign as a patchwork centre-forward, it does feel like Slot and co are gearing up to part ways with Nunez. This is a shame.

Diaz, by the by, has also been linked with a transfer to the Gulf of late, with Barcelona also interested for a while now, and Liverpool would look to claim a whopping £67m fee for the Colombian’s sale.

However, Liverpool aren’t likely to be eclipsing their record transfer sale. Why don’t we take a moment to revisit the departure of Philippe Coutinho, a crushing blow at the time but, well, the spark for illustrious heights, in the end.

Why Liverpool sold Phil Coutinho

There was a time when Coutinho was the shining light in Liverpool’s team, one whose magic skills on the ball guided the club through dark post-Suarez days and into the Klopp era.

He shepherded Anfield’s lost denizens into a new beginning, with his ultimate moment that of his sale, leaving for a jaw-dropping £142m fee, enabling funds to be directed back into the market. Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker were the targets. They’ve done alright.

Liverpool actually signed Coutinho for a small sum, purchasing the little Brazilian from Inter Milan for £8.5m in January 2013. He played 201 times for the Reds and notched 97 goal contributions.

Liverpool remains the team that he has played the most football for and by some distance at that (Barcelona are second, having used Coutinho 106 times).

Coutinho led a lengthy career on Merseyside, but it was the final six months of his stay that proved the most fruitful on the field. Of course, this may be because in August 2017 Coutinho handed in an official transfer request after Barcelona had a bid rebuffed.

When Liverpool doubled down on their stance, he remained a committed part of the project, not exactly frogmarched out onto the pitch, but Coutinho no doubt knew that La Blaugrana intrigue would persist and that he had to prove himself worthy of a place at Camp Nou.

In the end, as stated already, this mattered little to Klopp’s grand plans. Or rather, it mattered greatly but proved to be a watershed moment for a team that had rediscovered its identity and needed a sprinkling of quality across defensive positions to ascend to the next level.

Steven Gerrard once hailed Coutinho as a “world-class player” and it’s clear to see why. However, the South American’s determination to leave for pastures new in Spain may stand as a cautionary tale for those who wish to make such a move.

Coutinho’s never quite been the same, albeit winning hordes of silverware in Spain and out on loan with Bayern Munich, where he won the Champions League.

Liverpool cashed in at the perfect time, banking an absurd sum for a talented player, one that actually stands as a 1570% increase from that one-time package that was paid to Inter.

Football is built on variables, and had Coutinho decided to remain as the playmaking centre-point of Klopp’s system, things might have been so different for a side that went on to conquer the biggest prizes that Europe has to offer.

Harking back to the likes of Nunez, you can see why FSG might be tempted to cash in for big bucks once again on a coveted forward, with Michael Edwards’ track record in the market hardly something that leaves a lot to be desired.

In any case, given that Liverpool signed the attacking midfielder for a smart fee, enjoyed the finest football of his career and sent him off to La Liga for £142m, he can only go down as a comprehensive success.