Liverpool are confident of sealing the signing of Brazilian playmaker Phillipe Coutinho from Inter Milan, as Pepe Reina ponders a move back to Barcelona.
Coutinho was the subject of a bid from Liverpool last week, which Inter Milan rejected. However, talks have continued over the weekend and the Reds are close to completing the signing for around £9 million ($14.2 million), with the deal expected to be announced at the end of this week.
Coutinho is a Brazilian playmaker capable of playing across the midfield, but he is most comfortable in the No. 10 role.
While the player has not quite hit the heights expected by Inter, when they bought him from Vasco da Gama in 2010, at 20-years-old, Coutinho still has all the time in the world to blossom into a great player.
Brendan Rodgers is at his best while nurturing young talent and Coutinho will fit the bill perfectly of Liverpool's American owners' policy of buying youth.
If the deal is completed as expected, Coutinho will add another dimension to Liverpool's attack which seems to be getting better with every passing week.
Meanwhile, a player who could be leaving Anfield is Reina, with the goalkeeper's father saying his son would be the perfect candidate to replace Victor Valdes, who recently revealed he would not be signing a new deal with Barcelona.
Miguel Reina said his son would love to go back to the club he first joined as a 12-year-old.
"He would be more than delighted to return to Barcelona," Miguel Reina told Laxaraxa.com.
"He did well from the moment he arrived there as a 12-year-old to when he left. I think Pepe has sufficiently demonstrated since then the quality of goalkeeper that he is.
"Nowadays, I think he would rise to the occasion. He would be ideal as the Barcelona keeper, certainly."
Reina has been constantly linked with a move away from Liverpool, with Arsenal reportedly keeping tabs on the Spanish international.
Atletico Madrid have also reportedly shown a keen interest and it is looking increasingly likely that Reina will indeed end his Liverpool career once the season finishes in May.
Interestingly, Valdes has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, meaning a possible swap deal could be on the works in the summer.
