3 ways Liverpool can address Coutinho's departure

For some Liverpool supporters, the agreement reached with Barcelona for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho is a fantastic piece of business. The Reds are reportedly receiving £142 million for a footballer who cost £8.5 million when the English club signed him from Internazionale.

For others, it's simply a massive blow to a club fighting for a top-four spot, with no amount of money being able to replace what the Brazilian would have offered in the coming months. Jurgen Klopp built Liverpool's squad around Coutinho, and the Reds are now losing their nucleus. It's a problem that needs to be solved.

Here are three ways Liverpool can address Coutinho's departure:

Sign someone

In Coutinho, Liverpool had a versatile footballer who could play both wide on the left - his favoured role - or in a central-midfield position. The Reds will have a hard time finding a like-for-like replacement, but it would be in their best interest to look for someone who can be deployed in one of the two locations.

According to the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle, AS Monaco's Thomas Lemar is atop the list of possible replacements. The Reds apparently wanted the French winger in the summer transfer window, but Les Monegasques decided to keep him in the hope of attracting a higher price in 2018. The money pocketed from Coutinho's transfer should be enough to complete a deal.

There's also Riyad Mahrez, but the Algerian attacker plays on the right side of the pitch, and, per the Press Association's Carl Markham, Liverpool contacted Leicester City to tell the Foxes there's no interest in the footballer, who was omitted from his club's team sheet at Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup. - CC

Change the formation

Jurgen Klopp arrived on Merseyside an impassioned character whose fervent demeanour matched his preference for frenetic paces and relentless pressing. The German gaffer's gegenpressing took the Premier League by storm, and with Coutinho, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and newcomer Mohamed Salah playing in a fluid and organic 4-3-3 formation, the results going forward were stunning.

With Coutinho gone, one of Klopp's options is to change the formation, in which the three-man midfield transforms into a tandem that would support three advanced players and a striker.

Against West Ham United in November, Klopp showed he's not adverse to an altered formation with a lineup that resembled a 4-4-2, and with the 4-2-3-1 paying dividends whilst with Borussia Dortmund, the Reds could mimic BVB's former set-up. In this formation, the onus is on Emre Can - who's leaving the club in the summer - and Georginio Wijnaldum to both play the role of ball-stoppers and link the backline with the attackers. A massive responsibility also falls on the shoulders of Adam Lallana, who must try to fill Coutinho's boots as the creative mastermind behind Liverpool's rapid front-three. - MC

Stay the course

Liverpool's failure to land Naby Keita and Virgil van Dijk last summer presents little hope the club will change tact and storm the January transfer window with a marquee nab of Lemar. Even signing West Ham's frustratingly inconsistent Manuel Lanzini would be a bolt from the blue.

Klopp's continued fondness for a 4-3-3 also makes a tweak in shape and approach an outside chance, but would making wholesale changes now really do a lot of good?

When it comes to attacking and midfield options, Liverpool is blessed. Lallana was a Reds standout before he succumbed to injury on the eve of the 2017-18 term, and after a tricky start, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is easing into Anfield life. Why not give opportunities to Dominic Solanke, Danny Ings, Ben Woodburn, and even injury-prone Daniel Sturridge in attack before breaking the bank for a player who has never plied his trade in England? Second chances have been a theme of the Premier League in recent years, with Victor Moses, Fabian Delph, and Abdoulaye Doucoure all being brought in from the cold to thrive.

What is needed can be re-assessed in the summer - it's not as if the Premier League's summit is within reach - and with the current players at Klopp's disposal, it may only take a quality goalkeeper and defensive midfielder to lift the Liverpudlians from top-four hopeful to a menacing title challenger. - DR

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)