Aston Villa have been very busy in the transfer market over the past few years, with many players arriving at the Midlands club and several moving away from Villa Park either on loan or permanent deals.
With the upcoming summer transfer window set to open for business once the season comes to an end, it seems as though the Villans may be involved in a tug-of-war over securing a deal for one particular player.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from Spanish media outlet Sport, fellow Premier League side Newcastle United have set their eyes on striking a summer deal for Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian, who is currently valued at £18m by Transfermarkt, made a return to England in January after Villa secured a loan deal for him from Barcelona until the end of the campaign.
Labelled an “instrumental” player by Steven Gerrard when he was at Liverpool before joining Barcelona in January 2018 for a massive fee of £142m, this is exactly what he has been for Villa since his arrival in the Midlands.
With 10 league appearances under his belt for Gerrard’s side, the 29-year-old has netted four goals and provided three assists along the way, showing that it didn’t take him long to get back into the swing of things in the Premier League.
In addition to his useful goal contributions, Coutinho’s overall performances have given the Villa fans a lot to savour, with WhoScored listing him as the club’s highest-rated player with a rating of 7.28/10.
To highlight the former Liverpool star’s attacking prowess for his new team, he has racked up a higher match average of shots (2.5), key passes (1.5) and dribbles (1.6) than any other Villa player, showing just how important a player he is for the Midlands club.
Taking all this into account, it would be a disaster for Johan Lange and Villa if they weren’t able to secure their loan star on a permanent basis in the summer.
Also, given how crucial the Brazilian has been for the team, it would surely leave Gerrard fuming if the 29-year-old were to join a Premier League rival in the summer rather than stay at Villa and help to push the club forward.
In other news: Gerrard can finally axe £46k-p/w dud as Villa plot bid for “tenacious” £65m “predator”