Steven Gerrard’s ‘insistence’ key to Aston Villa transfer – Made player feel ‘like a footballer’ again

Steven Gerrard’s ‘insistence’ was key to Philippe Coutinho agreeing to join Aston Villa on a permanent basis.

That’s according to Marca, who cover the Brazilian’s move to Villa Park today amid a look back on how things went so badly at the Nou Camp.

Coutinho has been on loan at Aston Villa since the January transfer window when he reunited with former teammate Steven Gerrard in an effort to get his career back on track.

That is exactly what he has managed to do, putting in a series of impressive performances to establish himself as a key man for the Villans.

They had an option to make his move a permanent one for €40m but decided against that, instead renegotiating a deal with Barcelona that has seen them sign the Brazilian on a permanent basis for €20m instead.

That was made possible by his current manager, say Marca, who say the ‘insistence of Steven Gerrard’ was key to the midfielder’s ‘continuity’ at Villa Park, where he’s been able to ‘stand out and shine’ once again.

This is somewhat backed up by Sport, who say Gerrard has helped Coutinho to feel ‘like a footballer’ once again after his miserable spell at Barcelona. According to them, Coutinho is ‘more suited’ to the Premier League than anywhere else.

Whether he can continue how he’s started at Aston Villa remains to be seen, of course, but there’s no denying this is a major signing for them and all seemingly made possible by Gerrard and the work he’s done with Coutinho since they reunited in January.