Klopp: Coutinho situation 'exactly what we wanted'

Barcelona were faced with contrasting negotiation stances when they failed in three bids to pry Coutinho away from Liverpool, while Dembele made a £97m move from Dortmund to the Camp Nou. 

Coutinho handed in a transfer request and was keen on a move to La Liga, but Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insisted that after the deal collapsed the Brazilian will be welcomed back to the squad.

'We have our situation and Dortmund has another', Klopp told SPORT1 when asked about Coutinho's failed move to Barca.

'Don't believe everything in the press or that there are offers here and there and that the minute after the offer has been entered, it should already be over', he added. 'We are not like George Orwell where everybody knows everything immediately. We have exactly the situation we wanted and no other'.

He then underlined the difference between Liverpool's situation and Dortmund's, after the Bundesliga outfit opted to sell their star: 'Dortmund decided the player [Dembele] would leave them, so I cannot compare the two situations'.

Coutinho could make his return to the squad next week after missing the start of the season due to a back injury. 'We still have a really good player in the squad who can play', the German said.