Liverpool warned off €50m Coutinho replacement
Liverpool have been told they have little chance of re-signing Suso during the January transfer window as the Reds ponder a long-term replacement for Philippe Coutinho.
The Italian media have gone overboard in recent days with plenty speculating that the Reds want to re-sign their former star in a costly move, leading tabloids there to compare the potential transfer to Paul Pogba and his £89.3million return to Manchester United last summer.
Liverpool sold the Spanish star for just €1.3million in January 2015 – but the player has since gone on to make a huge impact in Serie A.
The 24-year-old has been tipped as many as Liverpool’s most likely replacement for Coutinho, who last week joined Barcelona in a club-record £142million deal.
But any hopes Liverpool had of re-signing Suso this month have been hit by the news that the playmaker’s exit clause does not kick into action until the summer – meaning the Reds would have to pay well over the odds if they were to sign him now.
Furthermore, and amid claims that the Anfield board and manager Jurgen Klopp are contemplating whether to make a summer approach for Suso, Liverpool have now learnt that the exit clause in the player’s contract will rise by €10million to €50million should Milan qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Discussing claims the player could be sold this month, Milan announced on their official website: “With Suso, Milan was very clear in the summer: there was a joke that we would sell him for an offer of €80million.
“This is not true. The player extended his contract with Milan in September of last year. He remains a very important player.”
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