In a transfer saga that stretched over two transfer windows, Barcelona finally got their man. Philippe Coutinho is now officially a Barcelona player after completing his move to the Nou Camp on Monday, as Liverpool now turn their attention to replacing the 25-year-old.

While they may have lost arguably their best player, £146m is a substantial amount of money Liverpool now have at their disposal to go out and add to their squad in January. Although they will now likely be linked with every name under the sun, we will consider some of the potential realistic transfer targets Liverpool may be looking to bring in with the money they received from the Coutinho deal.

Klopp to swoop in for Riyad Mahrez?

While he may not be a like-for-like replacement in terms of the positions they play, Riyad Mahrez has shown he can win a game with a moment of sublime quality, much like Coutinho did on many occasions during his time at Anfield. The Leicester wide man is beginning to recapture some of the form he showed during Leicester’s title-winning season, the types of performances that won him the PFA Player of the Year award in 2016. He has scored seven goals and contributed seven assists in his 22 Premier League appearances so far this season, and has helped his Leicester side up to eighth in the league.

He has been the subject of mass transfer speculation ever since he won the League with Leicester in 2016.

He’s been linked with moves to Arsenal, Chelsea and Roma in the past, however, none of the deals have ever materialised, potentially giving the Reds the opportunity to swoop in for the Algerian international in January.

Although no formal contact has been made by either of the two clubs, Liverpool has been made 8/15 favourites by the bookmakers to sign the midfielder, and Jurgen Klopp is said to be a big admirer of Mahrez.

No transfer fee has been hinted as of yet, however with a £30m move to Roma collapsing in the summer, many believe the fee will be significantly more if Liverpool is to get the signature of the Leicester man.

Jack Butland to secure move ahead of World Cup?

One area of Liverpool’s squad which has come under heavy criticism in recent seasons is the goalkeeping department.

If Klopp believes his side have enough attacking talent going forward, he may well be tempted to strengthen other areas, especially between the sticks. With Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius both showing signs of a lack of confidence and carelessness this season, neither has secured the right to be the outright first-choice goalkeeper.

One name Klopp may be tempted to look at is Jack Butland. Currently at Stoke City, the England international has been one of the few positives the club can take from a pretty dreadful first half of the season. With the keeper desperate to secure his place as England’s number one goalkeeper for the upcoming 2018 World Cup, he may well be tempted to acquire a move away from his current struggling Stoke side and move to a new club to get a fresh start and help impress the selectors.

Stoke are said to want more than £30m after Jordan Pickford’s summer move to Everton set the benchmark they are now expecting other clubs to meet. With the Potters currently in turmoil sat in 18th in the League and having just sacked Mark Hughes as their manager, this may give Liverpool a prime opportunity to take full advantage of Stoke’s desperate situation and get Butland for a bargained price.

Liverpool to splash the cash on Marco Verratti?

PSG are currently one of the form teams in European football. They sit nine points clear of Monaco at the top of Ligue 1 and after qualifying from the group stages of the Champions Leagues have earned themselves a mouthwatering tie in the Round of 16 against the current holders Real Madrid.

A key reason for their success - not just this season but in recent years - has been their Italian maestro Marco Verratti.

Currently, in his sixth season at the Parc Des Princes, he continues to be an integral part of the midfield of Unai Emery’s side, holding the play together in the middle of the pitch. That being said, he hasn’t been exempt from transfer speculation in recent times. In fact, he was reportedly at the top of Barcelona’s hit list in the summer as the Catalan fans saw him as the perfect replacement for Andres Iniesta – who is coming towards the end of his career. However now that Barcelona has signed Coutinho, their interest in Verratti looks to be all but over, leaving Liverpool with the chance to potentially steal the Italian from the club who stole Coutinho from them.

He would be a good fit for this current Liverpool side, with many fans and experts highlighting how the club have failed to replace Steven Gerrard in the centre of the midfield since his move away from Anfield in 2015. With N’Golo Kante – winning back-to-back Premier League titles with Leicester and Chelsea - showing the value of a ball-playing central midfielder in a team, Verratti would certainly fit that description for the Reds, and with Naby Keita also set to move to Anfield in the summer, that could make a potentially deadly partnership in the centre of the park for Klopp’s side.
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