Aston Villa have seen a significant number of players make their way to the Midlands club during the previous summer and winter transfer windows.
One big signing that the Villans made that caught a lot of attention was securing an initial loan deal for Philippe Coutinho in January.
After scoring five goals and providing three assists in 19 league appearances last season, the club signed the Brazilian on a permanent basis in a deal worth £17m.
Now that Villa are eight games into their new campaign, pundit Noel Whelan has shared his thoughts on Coutinho’s efforts on the pitch for his side so far.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan had this to say about the 30-year-old: “Coutinho has not hit the heights he did when he first came in.
“It seems like he’s just lost that bit of grit, determination, and desire. He’s not putting in that work rate or being efficient on the ball.
“He got into some decent positions against Leeds but a man of his quality – you’re expecting better.
“I thought he was going to come into his own when Leeds went down to 10 men and exploit the space, but he didn’t.
“It was a lacklustre performance from Aston Villa. [Emi] Buendia did more in the short time he was on than Coutinho did in the full game.”
Despite making an appearance in all of Villa’s league games this season, Coutinho has yet to deliver a goal or assist for his side.
To further highlight how disappointing he has been, only Leon Bailey (13) has failed when trying to gain control of the ball on more occasions than the Brazilian (12).
His overall performances have earned the £125k-per-week Villa figure a rather disappointing season rating of 6.49/10 from WhoScored, leaving 13 other players at the club with higher ratings than him.
Taking all of this into account, it seems as though Whelan has a point with his criticism of Coutinho, especially of the displays he’s delivered in the league this season.
Moving forward, if the attacker doesn’t turn a corner and improve his output, this should force Steven Gerrard into making a big call and taking him out of the team for a period.
