"?Sky Sports pundit and Liverpool Legend Jamie Carragher believes that Philippe Coutinho has been the Premier League's best player in 2016 due to his unbelievable consistency.
The Brazilian international has started the new campaign well, scoring five goals and producing five assists in 12 appearances in the league before his most recent injury, completing a fine calendar year in a Reds shirt.
And according to "?Sky Sports, Carragher believes that the signs and progress that the 24-year-old is showing are encouraging enough to give him the award, despite some impressive performances from other players within the league this year.
"I think over the calendar year Philippe Coutinho has been the standout performer," said Carragher.
"There are lots of people in with a shout, like (Riyad) Mahrez and (Jamie) Vardy. At the start, they were outstanding and took Leicester to the title.
Jamie Carragher names the best Premier League player in 2016 - https://t.co/feAcuSjIdE pic.twitter.com/lZRWircSrl
"Kevin De Bruyne at times has shown glimpses of the player we think he can go on to be, and Eden Hazard at the back end of the year has shown what he was a couple of years ago when he was the PFA Players' Player of the Year.
"He's been injured for a couple of weeks recently, but I think for the full year you have to give it to Coutinho."?
After undergoing surgery on his injured ankle, coach Jurgen Klopp is hopeful that his star man will be ready to return to first-team action in the new year, in order to maintain their title charge in the second half of the season.
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