Philippe Coutinho transfer from Liverpool to Barcelona talked up by Brazil national team manager Tite

The Brazilian playmaker has been regularly linked with a move to the Nou Camp over the past year

Philippe Coutinho scored the second goal in Liverpool's vital win over Middlesbrough on Sunday (Getty)

The Brazil national team manager Tite has suggested that Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho would be an “ideal player” for Barcelona, should the playmaker ever make a move to Catalonia.

Coutinho has been regularly linked with the Nou Camp over the past year, despite the player committing himself to a new five-year contract at Anfield in January.

The 24-year-old batted away questions about his future after Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Middlesbrough on Sunday, which earned Jürgen Klopp’s side a top-four Premier League finish.

Tite, however, believes that a move could work for Coutinho as he would slot seamlessly into Barcelona’s current system.

Speaking about Coutinho’s relationship with Barcelona's Neymar, he told Spanish daily newspaper Sport: “They complement each other tactically.

“There was one goal they were brilliant for, Neymar on the left, Coutinho coming in to the middle. Both create things, find solutions in moments when we're not expecting it.

“Just to be clear, I'm talking hypothetically... There's Sergio [Busquets] and two articulators, Rakitic and Iniesta, who are the thinkers of the team. Coutinho could play that role. He is the ideal player for Barca.”

Tite, who won the Copa Libertadores and Club World Cup with Corinthians in 2012, also stressed that Coutinho leaving Liverpool was far from inevitable and Klopp should do everything in his power to keep him on Merseyside.

“At Liverpool, Coutinho is on the left, but the important thing is that he has the same role as with the national team,” he said. “Look, if I was Klopp I would fight to make sure I kept hold of him.”

Earlier this month, Klopp suggested that Coutinho would stay at Anfield as the player believes that it is the best place for him to continue his rapid development as a player.

“He became this player at Liverpool,” Klopp said ahead of his side's victory at West Ham United.

“He knows about this. That is what is really special about him. He really likes being here, it’s not like someone has to force him. His family really likes it too.”