Newcastle United have moved to take advantage of Aston Villa’s hesitancy over Philippe Coutinho to make their own intentions clear.
That’s according to Sport, who say the Brazilian would now be interested in a move to St James Park, having not been earlier this year.
Coutinho returned to the Premier League in the January transfer window, joining Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season and reuniting with Steven Gerrard.
It’s a move that’s worked out well for all parties, with Coutinho rediscovering himself and putting in a series of impressive performances.
Aston Villa have an option to sign him on a permanent basis for €40m, but they are yet to make it clear whether they will do so, and in the interim, Newcastle have made their move.
Sport explain that Villa have asked for time to make a decision, so Newcastle have ‘taken the opportunity’ to make their intentions clear.
The club’s new owners have told Barcelona they are willing to pay their €40m demands and confirmed to Coutinho’s entourage that they would pay Coutinho what he is currently earning at the Camp Nou.
Both of those mean they are now a ‘serious’ option for the player, who didn’t want to join them in January but has changed his mind after watching their improvement in recent weeks.
An agreement between both parties ‘would be possible’, and Barcelona would like a deal done before June 30th so they can include the income in this year’s accounts.
Newcastle would ‘have no problem’ with that and can pay the €40m the Catalans want.
