Liverpool target Philippe Coutinho has outlined his preference to stay at Inter.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has been the subject of interest from the Reds, whose hopes of signing his now-former San Siro team-mate, Wesley Sneijder, were dashed when the Dutchman opted to join Galatasaray.

Reports had linked Brendan Rodgers’s side with an £8 million bid for the starlet that was rejected by the Nerazzurri.

“I don’t feel that I’m on my way out,” Coutinho told Sky Sport 24.

“I hope to stay at Inter. I feel the coach and the club trust me.

“Now I’m focused only on doing my best in my job and getting back on the field soon.”

The youngster has made only five appearances in Serie A for Andrea Stramaccioni’s side in 2012-13 but impressed during a short-term loan at Espanyol in Spain last season.

If he were to join the Reds, Coutinho would become the Premier League club’s second signing of the January transfer window after the capture of Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea.

The father of Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has revealed his son would relish the opportunity to rejoin Barcelona, the club he first joined as a 12-year-old.

The revelation comes days after current Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes publicly stated he would not be extending his existing contract at the Camp Nou, prompting manager Tito Vilanova to begin the search for a potential replacement.

Miguel Reina, who was also a shot-stopper for the Blaugrana, has put his son firmly in the frame to replace Valdes by touting Pepe as the “ideal” Barca keeper.

“He would be more than delighted to return to Barcelona,” Reina told Laxaraxa.com.

“He did well from the moment he arrived there as a 12-year-old to when he left. I think Pepe has sufficiently demonstrated since then the quality of goalkeeper that he is.

“Nowadays, I think he would rise to the occasion. He would be ideal as the Barcelona keeper, certainly.”

Pepe Reina penned a four-year deal with Liverpool in 2010, which will run out in 2014.

Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling has hailed Reds coach Brendan Rodgers’ role in his development but insists he has not changed his natural game.

The 18-year-old has featured in every one of the Merseyside outfit’s Premier League fixtures this season after missing out on the opening day defeat to West Brom.

And Sterling has claimed that his first-team breakthrough is down to the fact that his qualities mesh perfectly with the Northern Irishman’s ideas for the team.

“I’ve learned so much from Brendan Rodgers, we have a good relationship. But I haven’t changed my game so much,” he told the Daily Mail.

“I just always try to play good football. The one and two-touch stuff has always been in me and when I get in the final third, I want to take players on. That fits in well with what the manager wants.”

The Jamaica-born wideman went on to state that he understands he will be fouled regularly as one of the Premier League’s trickiest players and named Branislav Ivanovic as one of his most intimidating opponents.

He explained: “I know I get kicked a lot but I didn’t know I was one of the most fouled players in the league. If that’s what it takes and we get free-kicks, I will take getting the kicks.

“The scariest to play against was Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. He wasn’t dirty, the guy is just a tank! A big guy, big upper body, big lower body. A real tank.

 “But it’s always happened, I’ve always played above my age group, with bigger guys, but I love the challenge. With the physicality, I had to learn new tricks, learn to outsmart my opponent.”

The former QPR trainee made his England debut in a November friendly clash with Sweden, but is keen to keep his feet on the ground following a meteoric rise over the last year.

He continued: “It’s been a great journey. Everything kind of changed overnight. Now it has become a nightmare to go into town. I know it is ultimately a good thing, though. For anyone my age it is a real honour to play for such a big club.

“You can’t listen to what people say. You want to hear positive but at some point you will hear negative. You have to blank it all out. Whatever they say, I know what I need to do to get better as a player and in my life.  

“On the pitch, I couldn’t ask for better people around me at Liverpool, like Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez who have been there and done it.

“They have lived their whole life as a professional on and off the field. I take stuff from their game, from the way they are, and I try and take that on.  I would never relax on what I have done so far.“