Coutinho 'best player in EPL'

Coutinho 'best player in EPL'

He has been out since mid-September with an injured shoulder.

So what impact will the imminent return of Philippe Coutinho have on a Liverpool side riding high in second spot in the English Premier League (EPL)?

According to the Reds' former striker Robbie Fowler, the Brazilian could be as galvanising as a blockbuster signing just before the end of a transfer window.

In fact, the 38-year-old - who is in Singapore to participate in the IG Masters sixes football tournament - even rates the attacking midfielder as the best player of this EPL season, even though he has not played for a month, missing three league games as a result.

The player once nicknamed "God" by adoring Liverpool fans said on Friday: "Coutinho is a great player and he is one I would love to play alongside.

"He may have been injured but he is a big player in the Premier League. He has been fantastic since he has been at Liverpool."

Signed from Inter Milan during January's transfer window last season, Coutinho has lit up Anfield with his tricky dribbles and carefully-weighted through-balls to set up strikers Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez.

While the strike duo are getting all the plaudits for their scoring exploits, Fowler - whose 163 goals make him the EPL's fifth-highest ever scorer - believes the key man is the pocket-sized 21-year-old operating just behind them.

He said: "Liverpool of late have been getting good results and they are a good team. The strikers have been scoring.

"But if you look at the forwards like Sturridge, he's been getting a lot of help from the players behind him, especially Coutinho."

In his heyday in the mid-1990s, Fowler was regarded as one of the EPL's best finishers, and part of his success was down to his chemistry with team-mates Stan Collymore and in particular Steve McManaman, who operated in a role similar to Coutinho's.

The former England international is in no doubt that, between having a prolific forward to share the scoring burden and an inventive playmaker carving defences open, it is the creative genius whom he would choose first.

Speaking to The Straits Times at a sponsor's event at the Shenton Way office of luxury property developer Castlewood, he explained: "If you are creating chances, you will need good strikers to put them in and Liverpool have them.

"But the supply is more important.You are only as good as the team you play in.You may be a great player but you need someone who is supplying the chances and crosses, or it is pointless.

"Good service is more important than anything else."

Fowler was appointed by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers earlier this month - together with McManaman and former defender Rob Jones - to help coach the club's Under-21 and Under-18 squads.

No doubt, he would be trying to unearth someone who could be the next Coutinho among the youngsters.

meng@sph.com.sg


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