Pass master Coutinho is a perfect 10

Philippe Coutinho may not have been able to salvage a victory for Liverpool in the Merseyside derby last weekend but his flashes of brilliance over the past few games offer Brendan Rodgers a solution to a pressing matter.

Early in the season Brendan Rodgers addressed live4liverpool.com and others about how he would be seeking a traditional ‘number ten’ in the coming summer. In January, just a couple of months after he made that statement, he signed a gifted young player who may have solved that conundrum ahead of schedule.

Since is arrival, Coutinho has played predominantly from the left hand side for Liverpool as he did on loan at Espanyol last season but, as we see more and more of the young star, it becomes increasingly obvious that he is even more threatening from a central position. He has shown he has the ability to contribute greatly from wide areas of course but his main attributes are his vision, imagination and passing rather than crossing or stretching the play. Liverpool have a star on their hands and must get the best out of him.

Coutinho receives his second successive LFC player of the month award

Against Newcastle and Everton he was allowed to play mostly behind Daniel Sturridge in the role that the number on his back suggests he should excel in. Excel he did. Despite still being in the embryonic stages of his Liverpool career he has quickly become the Red’s main source of attacking penetration in the absence of Luis Suarez. His defence splitting pass that led to Jordan Henderson’s goal at St James Park took the breath away. His dribble and flick for Sturridge’s first goal that day was mesmerising. Even in a subdued, tight Merseyside derby a week later he managed to unlock an Everton defence on top of its game with a stunning pass that should have led to the opening goal. With one impudent flick of the outside of his right foot he guided the ball expertly through a previously impenetrable block of blue shirts straight into the path of Sturridge for a clear cut opportunity. Had Liverpool’s striker given the pass the finish it deserved then we’d probably have seen Coutinho’s handiwork hailed as the ‘pass of the season’. On a day where defences were on top and genuine quality was in short supply, that moment shone like a diamond in the dirt.

Still slight of frame and yet to quite manage 90 Premier League minutes without a drop off in his physical condition, Coutinho has great scope for improvement. He should only grow more influential as time progresses. He is still a kid with an extraordinary talent that Liverpool must harness, but what a talent his is. With the amount of versatility on offer in attacking players such as Suarez, Sturridge and Henderson, it is surely in Brendan Rodgers’ mind to use Coutinho as his focal point going forward and create a team that is designed to get the best out of the Brazilian. Given how impressive he has been so early in his Liverpool career, one can only feel excitement at just how good Coutinho can be for Liverpool over the next few seasons. If he can continue to improve and is afforded the opportunity to go about his work in a team that supports and enhances his talent, the possibilities are endless. The thought of Liverpool going out to find a playmaker to play off a front man next season suddenly feel remote given Coutinho’s impact.  

He may not have imagined it when he signed the 20 year old, but in Philippe Coutinho Brendan Rodgers may have already found his perfect ten.