Arsenal have ‘entered the bidding’ for Philippe Coutinho this summer following his impressive performances on loan at Aston Villa.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who say the Gunners could end up fighting Steven Gerrard’s side for his signature.
Coutinho returned to the Premier League on loan in January, signing with Aston Villa until the end of the season in one of the more high profile moves of the January transfer window.
He’s been a revelation since his return, playing a starring role under his former teammate with a series of impressive performances.
They have an option to turn the deal into a permanent one in the summer for €40m; something Gerrard has publicly admitted he would do in a heartbeat if the money was his.
That is not the case, though, so it remains to be seen if there is a deal to be done with Barcelona, and in the meantime, other suitors are showing interest.
One of them is Arsenal, with a recent report stating they have ‘positioned’ themselves to sign Coutinho and Mundo Deportivo backing that up by saying they have ‘entered the bidding’.
According to their information, Mikel Arteta and co are keen on the Brazilian, and the player has not ‘ruled out’ a move to the Emirates at this moment in time.
As of today, Coutinho would prefer to stay at Villa Park because he is a leader in the current Aston Villa squad and enjoying himself on the pitch as well.
It is, though, ‘too early’ to say if he will stay there beyond this season, and so he has not ‘ruled out Arsenal’ or any other proposal that may come to him.
What he has made clear is that he would prefer to lower his salary and ‘feel at ease’ rather than maintain his current earnings and go to a team that ‘does not attract his attention’, which gives the Gunners and Villa better chances of getting him.
Barcelona, for their part, are ‘rubbing their hands together’ as they’re now confident they can get some of their money back and get rid of his wages this summer, both of which are major positives.
