When Philippe Coutinho left Liverpool he was one of the best players in the Premier League, and that’s why Barcelona broke the bank to sign him.
Despite his high level, even at the time it looked like the Catalan club were paying too much, having got themselves into a bitter battle-of-wills with the Reds. Then, when the Brazilian arrived at the Camp Nou, it didn’t seem clear that Barcelona knew exactly what to do with him.
They’d spent so long trying to force a transfer through, that they clearly hadn’t stopped and considered for long enough the exact role Coutinho would play for them.
Things didn’t work out, and he was sent out on loan to Bayern Munich for the 19/20 season. That switch went reasonably well, with 11 goals and nine assists in 38 matches, but Bayern didn’t make it permanent.
Barcelona continued to look to offload the player, and that saw him land at Aston Villa during the January transfer market. Manager Steven Gerrard had played with Coutinho at Liverpool, so knew what the player could achieve in English football.
Since signing for Aston Villa, the 29-year-old has two goals and two assists in three Premier League matches, and is proving Gerrard’s decision to be the correct one.
For years, fans of Premier League clubs had become so tired of links with Coutinho that it seemingly got to the stage he became vastly underrated, and Aston Villa were able to take advantage of that.
Friday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo explains Barcelona are thrilled with his instant impact, because they want the Birmingham side to use the €40m clause they have to make a sale permanent.
They expect Aston Villa to sign him next summer on a full-time basis, but then Mundo Deportivo suggest they could quickly cash-in. Should Coutinho continue his form it’s 
thought he’ll be worth more than the €40m, allowing Villa to make a quick profit should they desire.
Such a scenario ‘would not be surprising’ for Mundo.
It still seems unlikely, even if it is a possibility, because should the South American continue shining for Aston Villa then it’s unlikely such an ambitious club would happily see him go for the sake of a quick profit.
