Aston Villa signed Leon Bailey from Bayern Leverkusen and Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City to accompany Anwar El Ghazi, Trezeguet and Bertrand Traore, but Steven Gerrard appears to be in the market for another forward.
The Guardian say Villa are interested in Philippe Coutinho and have contacted the 29-year-old’s agent to discuss a move in January. Fans on social media are excited by the rumours and would love to see him in the Midlands.
Coutinho joined Barcelona on a five-and-a-half-year deal from Liverpool in 2018 and has gone on to make 106 appearances in all competitions, scoring 25 goals with 14 assists.
The Brazilian international was a regular in his early seasons at the Camp Nou, but he eventually struggled for form and playing time, resulting in him being loaned out to Bayern Munich (August 2019 – August 2020).
Coutinho has amassed only 501 minutes of La Liga football this season, finding himself behind Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele and Ez Abde in the pecking order, so it’s clear his future is up in Spain.
A loan move would benefit all parties. It allows Coutinho to get regular playing time elsewhere while freeing up their wagebill to register newboy Ferran Torres.
