Dubai: Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho will continue giving it his all at Anfield this season despite a failed move to Barcelona over the summer, according to Reds legend Gary McAllister.
There were fears the Brazilian would refuse to play after being denied a move to the Nou Camp, but McAllister — who was in Dubai for a charity golf event on Thursday — said Coutinho would follow the example of Luis Suarez, and just get back to business.
Like Coutinho, the Uruguayan striker also threw in a transfer request at Liverpool back in 2013 but returned the following year to enjoy his finest season at the club before landing an eventual move to Barca.
“He has a great attitude so I think he’ll be fine,” said McAllister of Coutinho, on the sidelines of the DSA Open at Emirates Golf Club, the penultimate round of the Swing Against Cancer Series, which wraps up at Jumeirah Golf Estates on October 26.
“I think we’ll see a similar response to what Suarez did, he’ll just get his head down and play.
“I can understand the South American thing with so many famous greats from Brazil having played for Barcelona, and maybe it was his dream as a youngster, but he’s a professional and signed a five-year deal [in January] so he has to focus on getting his mindset right and playing again.”
Coutinho, who was said to be devastated by the failed move, made his first appearance of the season coming on as a 75th minute substitute in a 2-2 draw at home to Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday. He’s now expected to start his first Premier League game of the season at home to Burnley on Saturday.
“I worked with him for a short period of time,” said McAllister, who was Liverpool’s first team coach under Brendan Rodgers briefly in 2015, after lifting five titles as player, including the Uefa Cup, at Anfield between 2000 and 2002.
“He’s extremely well liked at the club, takes pride in his performance and is a proper athlete. I think he has too much respect for his teammates, the club and the city not to give it his all. I think we’re going to see someone who is totally focused from now until the end of the season.”
Liverpool are currently eighth in the league, three points off leaders Manchester United after the first four games of the season. They started with a draw away to Watford, before wins at home to Palace and Arsenal but lost 5-0 away to Manchester City last week.
“At Burnley we will be looking for a big reaction,” added McAllister. “It was a bit disappointing to get in front against Sevilla and still draw. The City game totally swung on Sadio Mane’s sending off. City are probably the hardest team in the league to play against with a man down.
“Against Sevilla our attacking game was brilliant but you could feel the concern when Sevilla attacked. But you can’t blame individuals or a section like the defence, you have to look at it as a collective and defend the goal right from the front as soon as the ball is lost, it’s not just the fault of the back four.”
