Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho suggests Barcelona move is already in the past despite January links

Philippe Coutinho has given Liverpool fans hope he will stay at Anfield beyond the January transfer window after suggesting that his proposed move to Barcelona is already a thing of the past.

The Brazil international appeared to commit his long-term future to the Merseysiders in January when he signed a new deal until 2022 reportedly worth around £150,000-a-week.

However, six months later, Coutinho tried to force a move to Barcelona after being identified as the Catalans' top priority for the summer transfer window.

The 25-year-old playmaker even handed in a transfer request but Liverpool blocked his departure after turning down multiple bids from Barcelona for his services.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu claimed at the time that the La Liga giants had to abandon the pursuit on deadline day with Liverpool demanding they pay €200m (£175.8m, $235.7m) or forget about his signing.

But reports in Spain have claimed that the Catalans will revive the saga in January after club CEO Oscar Grau claimed in October that Barcelona are financially ready to make a new attempt to sign the Liverpool ace if Ernesto Valverde considers his addition a priority.

"We are prepared to sign Coutinho or other players but the proposal has to come from the technical staff. We will do our best to meet their demands," Grau said during a press conference.

Mundo Deportivo reported on Thursday morning (7 December) that Barcelona will make every effort to sign him in January, insisting Coutinho is still likely to move to the Nou Camp.

The Spanish publication claims that Liverpool are now ready to cash in for around €145m (£127.5m) with the La Liga giants still hopeful of reducing that fee even further.

However, Coutinho has suggested that his focus is now solely on Liverpool after the Brazilian ace scored a hat-trick during the 7-0 victory over Spartak Moscow on Wednesday night to help his side book their place in the Champions League last 16 as group winners.

Questioned by Esporte Interativo about the renewed links with Barcelona after the game, Coutinho said: "I always want to play and do my best, wherever I am. We had a summer of much speculation. A lot of things happened. I had a job offer, in any job you are interested or not. But that passed. I am here, every day, every week, I have new games [to play] and I try to do my best to help the team."