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Summer's here. Shorts, beer gardens, complaints about the heat and humidity. Ibiza plans, tennis, Glastonbury bores.

Oh, and Liverpool's most valuable player being linked away. It's a new tradition, it seems.

For the fourth summer running, Reds fans find themselves worrying, their club apparently at the mercy of Europe's vultures. After Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling comes Philippe Coutinho. Step into the spotlight, the little magician.

The suggestion is that Paris Saint-Germain, French champions for the past four seasons, are interested in taking Coutinho to Ligue 1. They, along with two other European clubs, have made their interest known to the Brazilian's representatives, and would be willing to pay in excess of £40m.

Liverpool would resist that. They don't want to sell, and no wonder. Put simply, they should not even countenance letting Coutinho leave the club this summer.

Let's get this straight; he's not Suarez. He's a better player than Sterling, who left for £49m last summer, but he's not Suarez. He never will be, despite his talent.

But he's important to Liverpool. He's their most valuable asset, their player of the season, their most creative player. They should be adding to him, building around him, not taking him away.

It has been a little surprising to see a few supporters suggesting his sale would not be catastrophic. “Too inconsistent,” is their argument. Memories of Basel, clearly, are still fresh.

Memories, though, can play tricks. Coutinho was poor in the Europa League final, sure, but he delivered for his side on numerous occasions this season. His song echoes around Anfield more weeks than not.

He scored at Stamford Bridge, at the Etihad and at Old Trafford. He scored against Tottenham, against Southampton, against West Ham. He netted in the League Cup final at Wembley, and in that epic, breathless win over Borussia Dortmund. Big games, big moments, big contributions.

He finished the season with a dozen goals in all competitions, his best return yet. He's not perfect, but at 23, he's only going to get better. Liverpool's best performances come when Coutinho is on song.

Losing him, then, would be a significant blow. The feeling already exists that Liverpool have drifted into becoming a 'selling club', that their best players are to be enjoyed only fleetingly before being snaffled away.

And hey, it's one thing to lose players to La Liga giants and the Premier League's big-money cartel, but to Ligue 1? A one-team league? That would sting. PSG are a Champions League club, but they're not a huge one.

And here's another question: if Liverpool were to get, say, £50m for Coutinho, would you back them to use that money well? Would they get someone better, without European football as bait?

From Coutinho's perspective, he is contracted until 2020 and is one of Liverpool's highest earners. He knows he is valued, trusted, wanted.

He also knows – or should know - that in Jurgen Klopp Liverpool have a manager capable of bridging the gap between where they are now and where they want to be. Eighth in the Premier League is not for Klopp, nor is it for Coutinho.

He spoke in the build-up of how he was getting frustrated at "hitting the post" when it came to winning silverware. Like any player, he has ambition. It's not all about money.

These are huge 'ifs' of course, but IF Liverpool can get more right than wrong in the transfer market this summer, if they can tighten their defence, bulk up their midfield and get Daniel Sturridge on the field more often than not, then progress will follow.

Coutinho must, MUST, be central to those plans.

What's the French for 'on your bike' then?

Beware the Wembley 'sell out'

So....Liverpool v Barcelona, eh?

A sell out. Eighty thousand fans packed into Wembley for a summer spectacular. Should be great.

Tickets for the International Champions Cup fixture sold out on Friday in under an hour, according to Wembley. An incredible show of support from Reds fans.

Or was it?

The suggestion from supporters is that the 'general sale' process was something of a nightmare. On sale at 10am, sold out by 10.10am, with thousands of Kopites left angered and frustrated.

The fear is that a large portion of tickets – which started as low as £26 for adults - will end up in the hands of touts and websites. Look out for inflated prices in the run up to the August 6 clash – and don't pay them. Ticket touting is a serious problem in football, it needs stamping out.

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Attention, budding managers...

Jamie Carragher's favourite non-League club, Bootle FC, are on the lookout for a new reserve team manager.

The Bucks, who will compete in the West Cheshire Second Division next season, are seeking “an enthusiastic manager who is willing to participate in the club’s vision of promoting local young talented players from across Merseyside to first-team football.”

The successful applicant will work closely with first-team boss Joe Doran, who guided the team to eighth place in the North West Counties Premier Division this season with a side packed with youngsters.

Any interested parties are asked to submit a football CV or covering letter highlighting your skills, attributes and achievements to: secretarybfc@gmail.com

The deadline for applicants is 3pm Saturday 11th June.