Aston Villa are reportedly in talks with the agent of Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho over a loan move for the former Liverpool star.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Coutinho is willing to leave the Nou Camp this month. However, any deal to bring the Brazilian to Villa Park is a long way from being completed, with two other Premier League clubs interested in his signature.
Aston Villa Open Talks With Philippe Coutinho Over January Loan Transfer
Move Would See Coutinho Reunited With Steven Gerrard
Bringing Coutinho to the club would represent a major coup for Aston Villa, despite the player’s struggles since a £142 million move to Barcelona in 2018.
At the time, the transfer fee paid by the Spanish club to sign Coutinho from Liverpool was the third-highest in football history, eclipsed only by the 2017 transfers of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé (initially on loan) to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
It was during his time at Anfield that Coutinho played alongside Steven Gerrard, who has impressed since becoming the manager of Aston Villa.
After Coutinho joined Liverpool from Inter Milan in 2013, the pair played together until the summer of 2015, at which time Gerrard left the Merseyside club to sign for Los Angeles Galaxy.
Coutinho’s Disastrous Barcelona Career
The fact Coutinho is willing to leave Barcelona comes as no surprise given the player’s struggles since his big-money move to the Nou Camp. The 29-year-old has failed to find a position that suits him in the Catalan club’s first-team, and was shipped out on loan to Bundesliga side Bayern Munich for the 2019-20 season.
In truth, Coutinho’s spell at Bayern can hardly be considered a success either, and the Bavarian outfit showed no desire to make his year-long spell a permanent one. Ironically, the playmaker’s best moments for the German club came against Barcelona in the Champions League, when he came off the bench to score twice in a famous 8-2 win in August 2020.
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