Liverpool told to splash bulk of Philippe Coutinho fee on Paris Saint-Germain's Marco Verratti

Former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow has urged Jurgen Klopp's side to spend the money received from the sale of Philippe Coutinho on Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti.

The Merseysiders finally allowed Coutinho to clinch his dream move to the Camp Nou on Saturday (6 January) and in doing so pocketed an initial £105m ($142m), though that figure could rise to £142m if certain clauses are met.

The recent arrival of Virgil van Dijk has somewhat softened the blow of losing Coutinho, who captained Liverpool on a couple of occasions during the first half of the campaign, but Purslow, who managed the club through a rather tricky period in their history between 2009 and 2010, wants to see Klopp's men go out and make another statement signing in the form of Italy international Verratti, who has been targeted by Barcelona in recent seasons.

Liverpool already have a deal in place for RB Leipzig's Naby Keita in the summer though they are hopeful of bringing the Guinea international's £55m move forward to this month, much to the chagrin of their German counterparts.

But despite the impending arrival of Keita, Purslow is looking to see Liverpool move for Verratti, citing the exploits of Chelsea star N'Golo Kante as a reason to wrap up a deal for the diminutive star.

"Go and buy Marco Verratti from PSG," Purslow said on Sky Sports' The Debate. "Who has won the league in the last two years? Leicester and Chelsea. What was the common denominator? N'Golo Kante.

"Would he have made Liverpool better? Indisputably. He is a world-class player, I just think Liverpool have to aim high. I don't want fine, I want brilliant, because they just sold brilliant. 'Fine' gets you fourth, fifth, sixth."

Verratti is unlikely to swap the Parc des Princes for Anfield, but he did have designs on joining Barcelona in the summer. The Spanish league leaders were hoping to thrash out a deal with PSG for the €80m-rated midfielder, who told the French outfit that it was his wish to join Ernesto Valverde's side, but in the end it was the Parisians who plucked a key player from Barca, signing Neymar for a world-record transfer fee of £198m.