Brendan: I'd pay to watch Coutinho play
Brendan Rodgers watched Philippe Coutinho celebrate signing a new long-term Liverpool contract with a stunning winning goal against Bolton Wanderers and then insisted: 'He's on his way to becoming world class'.
The day after committing his future to the Reds with a fresh deal, the Brazilian struck a sensational curling injury-time effort at the Macron Stadium to secure a 2-1 victory and a place in the FA Cup fifth round.
It was the latest in a string of influential displays from Coutinho, whose form has been a highlight of Liverpool's upturn in fortunes since mid-December.
And Rodgers enthused afterwards: "You'd just pay money to watch that kid.
"You watch how he plays football and I think he's a great role model for lots of technical players in this country - young British players that maybe for many years would have been discarded because they were technically good but maybe not as big in stature.
"He'll become world class in the next couple of years. We had Luis Suarez who was at that level, played in this team and he grew and grew with the game model and rightly went into the world-class bracket.
"I can see Coutinho following a similar sort of line. He might not be as prolific as Suarez was, but he's certainly on the way to that level.
"He's a wonderful, wonderful player and signing the new deal shows he's really committed to Liverpool and his development."
Coutinho's strike came just moments after Raheem Sterling had cancelled out Eidur Gudjohnsen's penalty-spot opener.
The forward was assisted by a sumptuous pass from Emre Can, who - almost nonchalantly - scooped the ball over the Bolton defence from the edge of the area to allow his teammate to score with a first-time finish.
Like Coutinho, Rodgers is confident the summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen has a big future ahead of him at Anfield.
"He's a kid that is going to go on and be a big player for this team, but also Germany as well," said the manager. "You see his stature in the game; he can defend, he can pass, he is quick and powerful, then you see his pass for the goal - a wonderful pass.
"A lot of these young players are standing up and being counted now, the likes of Emre, young Phil Coutinho and Raheem - these are guys that are playing exceptionally well at the moment.
"Emre is getting great confidence from playing every week."