Liverpool Liverpool threaten to hit transfer low as Barcelona grow expectant of Phillipe Coutinho arrival and big deals stall Close 1/1 Philippe Coutinho with Jurgen Klopp Gallery 1 Philippe Coutinho with Jurgen Klopp

It has been planned as the summer that Liverpool stepped up a level, but has recently stalled, and is now in danger of suffering a bit of a low.

Jurgen Klopp has wanted to bring in two more mega-deals in Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita to take the club’s spending up to an unprecedented £200m or so, but there is a real danger that they could lose on both targets and also lose Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

It would be like 2014 all over again, when they reached the Champions League but still sold Luis Suarez, only feel even worse precisely because they were supposed to be past this.

There is genuinely a pressure on the club for the remainder of the window now, even if it’s still worth looking past the noise, because there are a lot of conflicting sounds.

One positive is that those close to Van Dijk’s camp say there is a real relaxation about his future, and they believe he will move - with Anfield his massive primary choice - with the centre-half having told new Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino that he no longer wants to play for the club. The problem of course is that Liverpool must tread very cautiously in all of this, having already had to publicly apologise to the south-coast club over a complaint about illegal approaches. They cannot really force the issue and, for their part, have not done that in the slightest so it is really up to the 26-year-old to further agitate for a move.

Southampton may well prove tough negotiators, though, just as RB Leipzig have. It is after all not long since Keita really felt even more confident than Van Dijk’s camp that he would be going to Anfield this summer. He has had to re-assess that over the past week or so. While it is not true that a third Liverpool bid has been turned down, the Leipzig hierarchy have so far shown no indication that they will be turning.

They certainly haven’t been in the generous mindset of being unable to stop a player “living out his dream”, just as Liverpool did in 2014 with Suarez, and could yet be pushed into with Coutinho. The situation is a little similar there, somewhat inverting Klopp’s problems.

Those close to the Barcelona hierarchy are speaking about how they expect the playmaker to arrive this summer, and that it’s just a “no-brainer” he would want to leave Anfield for Camp Nou - even if the machinations could well indicate that Neymar is actually leaving the club. It’s just that the Catalans would surely have to offer a lot more than £80m, especially in this market, and especially with that contract he has that runs until 2022.

A further complication to this, and almost ramping up the pressure, is Klopp’s idiosyncratic - and someway admirable - approach to doing business. Those close to the club say he isn’t always interested in alternatives if he doesn’t get his primary targets, and there currently don’t look to be too many back-up options to Van Dijk or Keita. It sometimes feels as if he just has a vision in his head for how his side will play with those specific players, and is just willing to improvise if he doesn’t get them. That was what happened in his very first window in 2016.

The issue that is so central to the very vibe around the club, however, is that this was supposed to be a summer of imposing themselves rather than improvisation. It was supposed to be about for once fully maximising the opportunity of being a Champions League club again, something that cannot now be guaranteed in a Premier League where there are six and maybe seven clubs - if neighbours Everton really push on - going for four places.

Ultimately, what it all boils down to, is Liverpool have to show a steel. They have to flex the muscle that does come with this bigger broadcasting deal, even if it has meant everyone else is wealthier, too. They just have to press that home. They have to stand firm with Barcelona. That should be non-negotiable. There is after all no real justification for selling Coutinho, unless he actually agitates, something that looks unlikely. The positive is that is exactly the stance that the hierarchy are going to take - that he is just not for sale at any price. They then have to take a similar attitude on the other side of things. They have to show a new canniness with the main targets.

It is likely to be the key to reaching higher in the Premier League. Impressive as Klopp is at improvising, no one can keep doing that indefinitely. It’s time to step up.

Independent News Service