Liverpool 'made contact with Coutinho over transfer speculation'

Liverpool have reportedly made contact with Philippe Coutinho over transfer speculation linking the 27-year-old with a return to Anfield.

Coutinho is expected to be on the move this summer after spending the season at Bayern Munich on loan from Barcelona.

Chelsea are favourites to sign the Brazilian playmaker, but are expected to face competition from Tottenham and PSG if and when the transfer market opens once the coronavirus crisis has eased.

Meanwhile, bookmakers Betfair are offering odds of 6/1 on Liverpool landing the player they sold to Barcelona for £142million in January 2018.

But the Reds are not interested in a reunion with Coutinho, according to a report from Spanish publication Sport, via Sports Mole.

The report says Liverpool have already contacted their former star to say they won't be making a move for him this summer.

Coutinho lit up the Premier League with Liverpool, and scored 54 goals from 201 appearances in all competitions for the club.

But he has struggled to impress since joining Barca, while Liverpool have gone from strength to strength under manager Jurgen Klopp, winning the Champions League last year before claiming the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup, and amassing a 25-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

With Liverpool seemingly not in the race for Coutinho's services, that clears the way for Premier League rivals Chelsea and Tottenham to battle it out for his signature.