Danny Murphy: 'Philippe Coutinho not welcome back at Liverpool'

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has insisted that Philippe Coutinho "would never be welcomed back" at Anfield following his exit in January 2018.

Coutinho strongly pushed for a move to Barcelona in the summer of 2017, before ultimately making the move to Camp Nou during the January transfer window of the 2017-18 season.

The 26-year-old has found it extremely difficult to perform consistently in Spain, leading to suggestions that Liverpool could look to re-sign the Brazil international this summer.

Murphy, however, has said that the Merseyside club's supporters would be against a move for the playmaker.

"Coutinho would never be welcomed back at Liverpool. It hasn't worked out for him at Barcelona, but he made his bed by declaring how much he wanted to leave and now he has to sleep in it," Murphy told Sportingbet.

"I think even if Liverpool thought it was something they wanted, the fans would make it perfectly clear it wasn't acceptable and would force them to pull the plug. The fans didn't necessarily begrudge him his move to Barcelona, but he left himself no way to come back."

Coutinho has scored eight times in 36 appearances for Barca during the 2018-19 campaign.