Brazilian Philippe Coutinho has been displaying excellent vintage form since joining Aston Villa on loan from Barcelona in the January transfer window, having found the net twice and providing two assists. And the good news for Aston Villa is that they could reportedly end up signing the former Liverpool player for less than the £33million fee they agreed last month.
Barcelona – still heavily beset by crippling financial problems and desperately seeking money to cover the outgoings on transfers and contracts for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adama Traore and Ferran Torres last month – are desperate to get Coutinho off the books completely as new boss Xavi continues to focus on his squad overhaul.
Coutinho has clearly found his miraculous return to form following his return to the Premier League, with the former Liverpool star scoring two goals and contributing two assists. Besides scoring, the Brazilian also provided two assists for exciting young star Jacob Ramsey in Wednesday’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United at Villa Park, and his manager Steven Gerrard was delighted with the brilliant display of his former teammate.
“It was vintage Philippe Coutinho,” he told BT Sport after the match.
“He seems happy, we have given the stage to go and enjoy his football again.
“His vision and his awareness, if you don’t love watching that you should stop watching football.”
With the way his performances are shaping up so far it now looks very likely that Villa will seek to make his move permanent in the summer, and with the prospect of signing him for a lower fee than they previously anticipated, according to Birmingham Live who state that the £33million fee isn’t cast in concrete, with Villa having room to negotiate with Barca to seal the deal, as the Catalans are more than prepared to rip up the initial agreement in order to get the Brazilian’s wages off their books.
At the end of this season Coutinho will still have one year left on his Barcelona contract and it’s his call whether or not to accept what is certain to be a significant reduction to his massive £380,000 a week salary.
From the look of things, the Brazilian appears to have found his niche at Villa Park and spoke about how much he wanted to play under Gerrard after joining.
“He has always been my idol, we had a great time together playing. It is a great pleasure to be coached by him now and I hope to repay that on the pitch,” he said.
“We spoke for many days since the New Year and he told me everything about the club and the ambitions. It was clear for me I want to be with him.
“I am really excited.
“For sure it will be a really good experience. The last four years have been with some ups and downs as life is.
“I keep the positive things. I have won some league titles and cups and also the Champions League was really nice. But I miss too much the Premier League and the atmosphere of the games. I am looking forward to the new journey.”