Friday's Liverpool transfer talk: Coutinho, Simakan, Salah

The January transfer window has now closed, leaving Liverpool to begin looking forward to the summer for their next round of recruitment.

Here, Sports Mole rounds up the latest news on possible comings and goings from Anfield.

Friday morning's Liverpool transfer talk news roundup:

Barcelona 'will not field Philippe Coutinho again this season'

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Philippe Coutinho will reportedly not play for Barcelona again this season as the Catalan giants want to avoid paying out more money to Liverpool.

The Brazil international swapped clubs in January 2018 for a fee rising to £142m, a large part of which is made up of incentive-based clauses.

One of those payments relates to the number of appearances made, which cash-strapped Barca are said to be wary of triggering.

Spanish journalist Javi Miguel, who writes for AS, claims that the La Liga side will therefore try to avoid using Coutinho between now and the end of the season.

The 28-year-old is currently sidelined with a knee injury, but he is expected to be back in action by early March - two months before the 2020-21 campaign ends.

Coutinho is believed to be seven appearances short of triggering the latest €5m (£4.36m) payout to Liverpool.

RB Leipzig beat Liverpool, Chelsea to Mohamed Simakan?

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RB Leipzig are closing in on a deal for rumoured Liverpool and Chelsea target Mohamed Simakan.

The Premier League pair have recently been credited with an interest in the Strasbourg defender, who is valued in the region of £18m.

Neither side could reach an agreement with Strasbourg in the January transfer window, however, and Leipzig are now the frontrunners to sign the 20-year-old.

Speaking to France Bleu, Strasbourg president Marc Keller confirmed that the German side is Simakan's preferred destination.

"For the moment, we have never adopted a trading policy like other clubs, i.e. selling to compensate for operating losses," he said.

"We've never done it and for the first time, we're probably going to use a sale to help us get through this crisis as well.

"It should be Mohamed, although for now nothing is done. We discuss. We have a very good relationship with the German leaders in Leipzig. We still had them on the phone [on Tuesday]. Momo wants to go there."

Simakan has two-and-a-half years remaining on his Strasbourg contract and has started 19 times in Ligue 1 this season.

More transfer news from Liverpool:

Liverpool 'insist Mohamed Salah not for sale amid Bayern Munich links'

A report claims that Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is not for sale at any price following fresh links with a move to Bayern Munich. Read more.

Agent: 'Ismaila Sarr almost joined Liverpool in January'

Ismaila Sarr came close to joining Liverpool during the January transfer window, according to the Watford attacker's agent. Read more.

Dejan Lovren expecting Mohamed Salah to stay with Liverpool

Former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren expects Mohamed Salah to remain at Anfield on a long-term basis. Read more.