Coutinho's possible Liverpool return - Six players who made the same call

Bengaluru, June 17: Philippe Coutinho is once again being linked with a sensational return to Liverpool as Barcelona directors are reportedly willing to offload him this summer at any cost. Coutinho left the club in January 2018 however has not found his feet in Barcelona.

He is currently on a season long loan spell at Bayern but the German club too have informed that they will not make the deal permanent.

Hence, the La Liga Champions reportedly have informed Liverpool that they can re-sign the Brazilian attacker although the form of the deal is yet to be verified. The player is apparently eager to make a return and even ready to take a big pay cut.

Liverpool reportedly are lacking some financial firepower to sign any big names. Now whether the funds could be found to finance a deal for Coutinho remains to be seen. But a loan move remains a possibility and there is no doubt there are many Kopites who would love to see the Brazilian back at Anfield.

Should Coutinho return to Anfield he will be the seventh player to do so. Here is the list of all the previous six players who returned to Anfield in a second spell.

Steve Staunton

The first player for Liverpool in the Premier League era to make a return to Anfield after a successful five-year stint in the early 90s. After winning the FA Cup and League in 1990 he left the club for Aston Villa. But make a return to the side again in 1998 which was anything but success. He left the club two years later being mostly a squad player.

Ian Rush

Liverpool's all-time top-scorer has had two stints with the side and both were very similar to each other. After spending six years at Anfield winning four league titles he left for a new challenge to Juventus in 1986. But the move turned out to be a big failure and he returned to his old home two years later. He although managed to win only one league title in the next spell. But scored another 139 goals for the club in the next eight years.

Robbie Fowler

The academy sensation was already a star when he left the club for a new challenge with Leeds United. He scored 120 goals in nine years in his first spell with Liverpool but could not replicate the same with Leeds and later Manchester City. He made a sensational return to Anfield once again in 2005 but lasted only two seasons scoring 12 goals. A big failure indeed.

Fabio Aurelio

The left-back who joined the club from Valencia was let go by manager Rafael Benitez after his contract's end. But new manager Roy Hodgson brought him back to the club a few weeks later with a new contract. He left the club in 2012 and precisely has had a very ordinary time at Anfield for six years.

Craig Bellamy

The Wales forward signed for the club in 2006 but lasted only one season scoring seven goals. He although made a return again in the latter stage of his career under Kenny Dalglish in 2011. Though yet again it only lasted 12 months.

Rickie Lambert

The last but not the least, the former Southampton player had his dream fulfilled when he resigned for the Reds in 2014. Lambert spent his youth days at Liverpool but was released as a 15-year-old. Subjectively re-signing for such a huge club definitely would have meant enormous for him but the move was anything but success. He scored just two goals for the Reds before being shipped off the very next season to West Brom.