FOOTBALL transfers always seem to find a way to become a talking point, even if the window is firmly shut.

I feel every season it can be difficult to just sit back and enjoy the football as clubs are always being linked to buying and selling footballers regardless what time of the year it is.

It is no real surprise that this is the case as people involved in football one way or another love the speculation. It sells papers and gets people talking.

In Liverpool’s case, there is one rumour doing the rounds at the minute that has got people talking and it is that of the future of Philippe Coutinho.

When Barcelona came calling in the summer Liverpool fans everywhere feared the worst. Fenway Sport Group’s record of selling the best players Liverpool possess, the evidence is damning.

Raheem Sterling is the most recent example of a player that was brought in for a low sum of £600,000 and moved on for an initial fee of £44 million. Luis Suarez is the another example of someone who came in for a low sum of £22.8 million and was sold for £75 million.

That’s how FSG operate. They believe in this idea of developing youth and eventually moving them on.

That’s why there was such surprise when the club rebuffed Barcelona’s advances. Coutinho fits the bill of a player brought in on the cheap at a young age, and moving him on just as he is just about to enter his prime was the move many would have expected.

To turn down over £100 million for any player would be difficult, but the club refused to entertain Barcelona’s offer which was surprising. It was clear though that the timing of the bid didn’t work for Liverpool, as they would have had little time to reinvest in a replacement which arguably played a key role in the club rejecting all offers out of hand.

Retaining him has been worth it when he has played so far this season. One only needs to look at his performance against Brighton on the weekend in the Premier League. The way he controlled the game, assists his teammates and scoring a goal himself showed the quality he possesses.

He then again did the same against Spartak Moscow in the Champions League midweek by scoring a hat-trick.

This idea that he would not play to the best of his ability as he did not get his dream move to Barcelona has been quickly put to bed.

Now though, the January transfer window is slowly approaching and the rumblings that went all the way to deadline day in the summer are starting to resurface.

Barcelona come across as the type of club that won’t stop until they get their way, so it isn’t a real surprise to see they will try and force Liverpool’s hand again in January.

How true those reports are though at the minute is difficult to judge, but it would hardly be a surprise if they come back in for their key target in January. If they do return, the club need to take the same approach that saw Coutinho stay for the first half of this season.

The Reds certainly won’t want to lose him as he makes a big difference to the way they play, but they will also want to retain him for the fact he gives them more strength in depth when it comes to the squad.

His ability to score and create something from nothing and has proven time and again he can be the difference between winning and losing. He can thread passes through the eye of a needle and has shown he’s got a screamer in his locker several times in the last few years.

His versatility is also exceptional. The way he can play in a number of positions just adds to his overall quality. He’s even crafted his own role in the middle of the park picking passes from deep and the side seems to flow better as a unit when he plays deeper.

Liverpool’s midfield doesn’t want for energetic runners and hard workers, Coutinho on the other hand has the touch of magic which separates him from the rest.

Liverpool are in a race for a spot in the top four this year, they simply cannot afford another season of wasted qualification for the Champions League, then end up in the Europa League the next.

Liverpool need some stability and holding onto a player like Coutinho will give the Reds a better chance of playing in Europe’s elite competition next season.

With what’s gone before regarding Coutinho, you have to accept in today’s day and age that players will do everything they can to get their dream move.

Liverpool are finally starting to build towards being a top side again, and to lose Coutinho would be a blow. Too often in the past have the Reds been building towards something and it all falls apart because a key player moves on.

As in England’s summer, the chances of Liverpool getting the ideal replacement in January is very unlikely. The club have stood firm once and they need to do so again.