Philippe Coutinho: Barcelona 'willing to take loss' says pundit
The time may not be right to do the deal, but Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp received a stark reminder that Kai Havertz has all the credentials to play for Liverpool on Monday evening. The German international was in action for Leverkusen, as they thumped Werder Bremen 4-1 in their own back yard.
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Coutinho used to provide that magic and he also had a deadly long shot.
Nabil Fekir was nearly brought in six months after his departure as a replacement but the deal collapsed.
Liverpool then took a different direction in the transfer market but Havertz could see them reconsider their options.
If Klopp watched Havertz at the start of the week, he will also be mindful that there are more strings to his bow.
That's because the Leverkusen man was deployed as a false-nine, a role which brought the best from him.
Havertz was on the scoresheet twice for Leverkusen (Image: GETTY)
He scored twice with his head, something he is not usually renowned for.
But the way he occupied the Werder defence and linked play between the other forwards was reminiscent of the role carried about by Roberto Firmino at Anfield.
It's an art that not many have mastered in world football, yet Havertz seemed to make it look easy albeit against a woeful Werder team.
Leverkusen want around £90million for their star man and the current financial climate makes that difficult for any club.
However the advert on show last night will certainly have received rave reviews amongst the Anfield hierarchy, including Klopp and Michael Edwards.