Jurgen Klopp has warned off potential suitors from making a bid for Philippe Coutinho by insisting that the Liverpool playmaker is not for sale.
The Brazil international, who only penned a new five-and-a-half-year deal in January, is understood to have been on Barcelona's radar for the past 12 months.
Reports emerged on Thursday claiming that Barca are preparing an offer worth £70m up front, but Klopp has stressed that no amount of money will prise Coutinho away from the club as he continues to be "very important" for his future plans.
Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong, he said: "I have nothing to say about this, I'm sorry but obviously these stories are without my saying, so why should I disturb this process? Do whatever you want with this news, I am not interested. But what I can say, keeping the group together would make sense."
Asked if the former Inter Milan man is definitely not for sale, Klopp added: "Yes, that's what you can say, but that's not since this morning or yesterday, I'm not sure it was different at any time. Phil is a very, very important player, but we need to react better when he's not on the pitch, that's how it is.
"He was out for a few games [last season] and when he came back, he was not in the best shape to get back into his rhythm. With his quality, he has all the pressure to do it on the pitch. We have to be better in moments like this. Phil can of course improve, but there's no doubt about his qualities.
"He's in good shape, good games, good movement, very smart in both parts of the game, offensively and defensively. That's really important. He's a really good player, he's still young and can still improve. He's improved a lot since I've been here, but he was good before I was here."
Coutinho scored 13 times and provided a further 13 assists in 2016-17 to help Liverpool to a fourth-place finish in the Premier League.
Daniel Lewis
