Brendan Rodgers very nearly made one of the worst transfer decisions in history when he was at Liverpool

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Brendan Rodgers almost chose against signing Philippe Coutinho when he was in charge of Liverpool.

The Northern Irishman was one of the Reds’ more impressive managers before Jurgen Klopp joined as he almost won the Premier League title with the Anfield outfit.

Of course, a lot of this was down to the form of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard, and Coutinho, but there was actually a point when the Reds could have chosen against signing the Brazilian.

This would have been a catastrophic failure, especially since the player they had lined up instead is now playing in the Championship and has failed to score a single goal all season.

Brendan Rodgers was pushing to sign Tom Ince over Philippe Coutinho for Liverpool

Not only will Coutinho remain a part of Liverpool’s hearts due to the performances he put in when playing for the Reds, but he’ll also be remembered for the amount of money he earned them.

Coutinho’s £142 million transfer was also what set Liverpool on the trajectory they find themselves on today, as the money they raised from his sale allowed them to bring in Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, and Fabinho.

The aforementioned trio were Liverpool’s spine for several years, and, since the Reds bought them all at their peak, they got their best years out of them, which helped deliver several major trophies to Anfield.

However, if Rodgers had gotten his way and didn’t sign Coutinho and instead went for Tom Ince, it’s highly unlikely that they’d have won anything.

And while speaking on the It Was What It Was Podcast, journalist Rob Draper shared how opposed Rodgers actually was to signing the Brazilian.

“Basically, they’ve got two names, Philippe Coutinho and Tom Ince,” he said.

“And Brendan [Rodgers] is really pushing for Tom Ince, and I mean, somehow, obviously, within this story, there are compromises.

“They managed to convince him that Coutinho would be a better signing because Michael Edwards has seen the data from Coutinho at Inter, which is suggesting that he’s a better player than the market is valuing him at.”

Later in the podcast, the topic was revisited, and Draper continued by saying, “Barry Hunter, the scout, is involved, so okay, the manager is really opposed, but the scouting seemed to be up for it.”

Liverpool’s use of data when making transfers has been crucial to their success

Although the eye test is the best way to judge a player’s ability, statistics and data can also be very handy.

Of course, the bog-standard goals and assists charts don’t really matter all that much, as anybody can access that sort of data.

However, when things such as progressive passes in the final third or a player’s xG enter the equation, data can be key to understanding how good a player actually is.

Although Ince may have had English experience, which is likely why Rodgers wanted to sign him, the fact that Coutinho was so undervalued in the market that he only cost Liverpool £8.5 million proves why the Reds have been so successful.

Without their data system and their way of judging players, they’d not know whether their money is being well-spent.

That’s why, when the Reds spent £116 million on Florian Wirtz and £125 million on Alexander Isak in the summer, you know that they’re going to come good.

Things are finally starting to fall into place for Liverpool after their terrible month of performances in October, with the Reds’ summer transfers hopefully getting settled in and ready to play to their best standards possible.