Liverpool are reportedly keen on Barcelona’s Rafinha, in a £36m deal that would be completely separate from a potential Coutinho sale.
Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo (admittedly, not the most trustworthy) reckon we’re going in for the 24-year-old Brazilian, brother of Bayern’s Thiago, now Jurgen Klopp has accepted Red Bull Leipzig’s Naby Keita is simply not for sale.
Rafinha started last season in Luis Enrique’s starting XI, but injuries hampered his progress and he missed the second half of the campaign.
He’s naturally a midfielder, perfect for one of the spots in Klopp’s middle three – but can also play as a right wing-back or an advanced right winger – which would make him a very handy squad addition.
The player himself was coy last month when asked about his future.
“My future is open and only God knows what will happen,” he said.
“I am a Barcelona player and the most important thing now is to recover from my knee injury and then you will see what happens.
“All I can say is that everything is open.”
Rafinha lacks the robustness and dynamism of Keita, but is very skilled and is wonderful on the ball.
He’s more similar to Adam Lallana and Coutinho though, so is perhaps not the kind of midfielder Klopp wants to inject into his squad.
We’d be interested to see if this one develops, as a Keita alternative is likely to emerge soon with one month left until the transfer window closes.