Aston Villa is clearly looking to be ambitious when it comes to January signings if recent reports are anything to go by.
It has been reported by Helena Condis Edo, a journalist for European outlet Deportes Cope that Steven Gerrard’s Villians are in talks to sign attacker Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona.
Condis Edo claims that Coutinho is wanted by the Midlands side on loan until the end of the 2021-22 season.
? Coutinho: El Barça está negociando con el Aston Villa la CESIÓN de @Phil_Coutinho. Fuentes de la negociación me cuentan que trabajan en el acuerdo para que se vaya a préstamo hasta final de temporada allí. Ctado en @deportescope @tjcope @partidazocope
— Helena Condis Edo (@HelenaCondis) January 5, 2022
Coutinho, 29, has been a peripheral figure at the Nou Camp since his eye-watering £121.5m move in 2018 from Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
Since joining the Catalan side, the Brazilian wide-attacker has featured in just 106 matches, in all competitions, directly contributing to less than 40 goals, along the way.
However, despite the 29-year-old’s largely underwhelming spell in La Liga, he is clearly still highly regarded on English soil and while there has been speculation Barcelona may look to cut their losses on the world’s third most expensive player, recent claims suggest it is Villa who is ahead of the rest.
CaughtOffside’s Verdict
Aston Villa’s chances of landing Coutinho could be boosted after so far failing to replace former star man Jack Grealish, who joined Manchester City in a British record transfer worth a whopping £100m, last summer.
Should Gerrard and his coaching team be able to offer Coutinho assurances that a team can be built around him, the South American would likely shine.
Hoping to recapture his best form which he displayed during the 2016-17 season for Liverpool when he was involved in 21 goals in 31 Premier League appearances, seeing the already proven Coutinho back in England’s top-flight is certainly an exciting prospect and one many fans, particularly those of the Villians, will be hoping comes true.