Barcelona are due to speak to Philippe Coutinho’s agents this week amid concerns that Aston Villa won’t activate their £33million option to buy.
That’s according to Tom Hopkinson, chief sports reporter for the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, in a story published online on Saturday night.
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The lowdown
Villa signed Coutinho on loan in January and agreed a purchase option with the La Liga giants.
Steven Gerrard has selected him in 11 straight starting line-ups, and has been rewarded with four goals and three assists so far (via Transfermarkt).
Coutinho earns £480,000 per week at Barcelona and, as per The Telegraph, will have to take a significant pay-cut if he’s to join permanently.
For context, Villa’s highest earner at present is thought to be Danny Ings on a quarter of that salary.
The latest
Barcelona directors will seek imminent discussions with Coutinho’s representatives this week over his future.
They aren’t convinced that Villa will stump up the £33million, and they’re keen to know how much, if anything, the Midlands outfit will pay.
If his intermediaries receive a ‘negative response’ from Villa, they will begin to test the water with other clubs.
The plan is to find a new home for Coutinho as Barcelona look to clear him from the wage bill.
The Brazilian’s performances apparently haven’t been as consistent as Aston Villa hoped since his arrival.
The verdict
Is this assessment of Coutinho fair?
Even though he only joined midway through the campaign, his tally of seven goal contributions is enough to rank him third in the Villa squad behind Danny Ings (10) and Ollie Watkins (nine). That suggests inconsistency is an issue throughout the squad.
What’s more, his average WhoScored rating of 7.13/10 is the second highest in Gerrard’s ranks after John McGinn (7.17).
If Coutinho agrees to a reasonable wage, then it looks to be a fairly low-risk signing.
The 29-year-old scored 42 Premier League goals and provided 36 assists with Liverpool during his first stint in England, and he’s shown he can still thrive in the division.
He’s very much a known quantity and should theoretically be affordable for Villa, who paid more than £33million (£34.6m) to sign Emiliano Buendia last summer.
In other news, Steven Gerrard has personally scouted this midfielder.