Marseille youngster Maxime Lopez has revealed that Liverpool wanted him to be the next Philippe Coutinho when they were keen to sign him a couple of years ago.

A product of the Marseille academy, the teenage midfielder has been a regular in the senior side this season and is enjoying a sustained run of games for the Ligue 1 club.




However, the youngster was struggling to break through into the Marseille senior team a couple of seasons ago even when other young players were given an opportunity and around that moment Liverpool knocked on his door.

The Frenchman revealed that Liverpool pulled out all the stops to sign him from Marseille and even promised that he could be the next Coutinho at Anfield in a few years time.
 


He admits that part of him wanted to move to the Reds, but he also conceded that he was keen to continue at Marseille as it would have been mentally hard for him to move to a new country at such a tender age.  

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Asked about Liverpool’s persuasive nature, Lopez told French sports daily L’Equipe: “Yes, they told me ‘in five years time you will be playing in place of Coutinho’.

“They caressed me hard to move towards their direction and I even met Steven Gerrard at their stadium after a game.

“I wanted to go, but I also wanted to stay at Marseille.

"Leaving like that at that age, even if the family would have accompanied me, would have been hard.

“I noticed they had 30 young pros and you really had to be mentally prepared.”