Liverpool Transfer Rumours: Philippe Coutinho Bid Tabled by Reds; Rodgers Plays Down Sneijder Move

Jan 19, 2013 12:14 AM EST

With Brendan Rodgers primarily eyeing talented youngsters who can add value to the club, Liverpool have made a bid for Inter Milan's Philippe Coutinho.

After a disastrous couple of transfer windows over the past couple of years, Liverpool are more prudent nowadays when it comes to buying players.

Rodgers, who is also reportedly interested in signing another Inter midfielder in Wesley Sneijder, has already taken a bit of a gamble in buying Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea for £12 million ($19 million), although that move seems to be paying off with the youngster scoring two goals in his first two appearances.

With the Thomas Ince signing still in limbo, as Blackpool hold out for a larger fee, Rodgers has turned his attentions to the continent.

Coutinho, who is on loan at Espanyol from Inter, was touted to be the next big thing from Brazil, and although his career has not quite taken off like some would have expected, at 20-years-old, there is still plenty of time to show his talents to the world.

Knowing the potential that exists in the Brazilian, Liverpool have made an opening bid of £8 million ($12.7 million), according to the Daily Telegraph.

That bid has reportedly been turned down by Inter, but Liverpool are expected to follow through with another offer.

Speaking about the prospective signings in January, Rodgers said the club are looking to bring in a couple more new faces.

"We'll see what happens over the course of the next few weeks," Rodgers told reporters.

"Daniel was our main priority and we'll have to see what else is available.

"There's no doubt we need to support the group. We had 20 players training this morning, of which some of those are our younger players, so we know we need to reinforce and top up the group. That's something we'll look to do.

"If we can do it then great and if not, then we'll wait until the summer."

Rodgers also played down the possibility of Liverpool signing Sneijder. "You could probably rattle off about 20 names and the answer would be the same," he added. "The club have been linked with a whole host of players, but I couldn't see that happening."

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