Steve Nicol offers his thoughts on Virgil van Dijk now that the news of the transfer has had some time to sink in. Paul Mariner comments on reports of a move to Real Madrid for Mo Salah and whether their style of play would suit him.
LIVERPOOL -- Jurgen Klopp has played down the significance of handing Philippe Coutinho the Liverpool captaincy at times this season, insisting it is "just an armband and not more."
Coutinho has captained Liverpool three times so far during 2017-18 -- most recently in the 5-0 Boxing Day win over Swansea City -- in the absence of Jordan Henderson and deputy James Milner.
The Brazil playmaker continues to be linked with a transfer to Barcelona after he failed to force a move to the Camp Nou in the summer.
"I don't want to make the story less romantic but it's how I said it -- when Hendo [Henderson] and Milly [Milner] are not playing I have to look [for a captain]," Klopp told a news conference on Friday. "Phil is long-serving, so he is captain.
"I could say that if I give him the captaincy he'll never leave or he'll be happier, but that's not how it works. The armband does different things, you can feel the lift or the pressure.
"It didn't disturb him, so it's all good in the moment. It's a good moment [for Coutinho]. I'm not sure if the armband has a big influence, but he has played very well in the last couple of weeks especially.
"It's just an armband and not more. The job Hendo and Milly do in the dressing room is different.
"In England when you get the armband everyone tells you what you have to do. It's important on the pitch, but not in the same way."
Philippe Coutinho captained Liverpool during the victory over Swansea on Boxing Day.
When Coutinho captained the club for the first time, earlier this month for the Spartak Moscow game, Klopp said he chose the 25-year-old as skipper after discovering, via Google, that he was Liverpool's longest-serving player in the starting XI that night.
"I love this player. He was really good tonight and he was the longest servant on the pitch tonight," Klopp said of Coutinho following his hat trick against the Russian champions on Dec. 6.
"In the lineup, it was clear he was going to be captain. He signed in like 2013, I had to look, I had to Google it, to be honest!"
Glenn is ESPN FC's Liverpool correspondent. You can follow him on Twitter: @GlennPrice94.
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Source: espn.co.uk