Struggling for time at Barcelona after being hindered by injuries, Philippe Coutinho headed to Aston Villa on loan where he was reunited with his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard.
The Reds legend is now the Villans’ manager, but the affinity between the two certainly hadn’t dwindled, as he immediately managed to get the best out of the Brazilian.
This was on show in Wednesday night’s 3-3 draw against Leeds, as Coutinho had a hand in all of his side’s goals, scoring one and setting up two, which should have been met with delight at Barcelona.
When negotiating the loan, it was revealed the La Liga side had negotiated a €40m option to buy for the playmaker, but Sport report on Thursday they’re actually expecting to receive less from Aston Villa if they do decide to make the move permanent.
It’s stated that when the two clubs agreed on the deal, ‘sources at Barcelona already expressed their pessimism that the English club would decide in June to pay the agreed €40m’.
The reality is that regardless of how well Coutinho does at Villa Park, the Catalans desperately need to avoid him returning to the Nou Camp because of his wages, meaning that ‘everything points to the fact that if Aston Villa decide to keep him, they will do so at a price lower than the €40m stipulated’.
In fact, they go as far as saying that selling the midfielder ‘for €25-30m’ wouldn’t be seen as a ‘bad operation’, because ‘being able to complete his transfer’ permanently ‘would be a success’, regardless of whether it was below the pre-agreed €40m.
Something to think about if the former Inter star continues to shine as he has done under Gerrard.
