Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has hailed Philippe Coutinho as the bargain of the season.
While Mesut Ozil is still to justify his £42million transfer fee at Arsenal and Manchester United have lavished £37m on Juan Mata, the 21-year-old has brought some Brazilian brilliance to Liverpool after arriving from Inter Milan for just £8.5million.
Coutinho pits his wits against Ozil today when Liverpool travel to the Emirates in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
And Rodgers said: “Philippe has been a snip. He’s an absolutely wonderful talent. There are very few players at this level now who can penetrate with a pass and play through teams like he does.
“The quality and weight of his passes is sensational.”
Rodgers added: “When I worked at Chelsea I used to watch Deco.
“He was a bit older than Coutinho is, but I still remember his first training session when he got a round of applause.
“Coutinho is like that. He has pure quality and can make the difference in games.”
Written by Steve Milne @stevenmilnelive