Philippe Coutinho is training with Vasco de Gama, despite there being no agreement with Aston Villa over a permanent transfer.
That’s according to O Dia, who report that the 33-year-old is still negotiating the termination of his contract with Aston Villa.
The midfielder wants to stay with Vasco this summer after spending last season on loan with the Brazilian side. That loan deal ended on Monday and there is an expectation that he will sign permanently with them at some point.
Negotiations are still ongoing on that front as the various parties try to work out how to make that happen. The current focus is that he terminates his deal with Aston Villa and arrives on a free transfer.
If he is unable to do that then the alternative will be to try and secure a new loan deal with Aston Villa for next season. Aston Villa will not make it difficult for him to leave and have given him permission to carry on training with Vasco while negotiations are underway.
That would suggest matters between the various parties are amicable and a deal will be struck at some point, either via a termination or a loan. Quite why the whole thing is dragging out hasn’t been made clear.
