Aston Villa is nearing an agreement to trade Philippe Coutinho.
Aston Villa are close to reaching an agreement with Qatari club l DuhAail to loan out 31-year-old playmaker Philippe Coutinho.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Philippe Coutinho is getting closer to joining Qatari side Al Duhail on loan from Aston Villa. The 31-year-old playmaker is not in Unai Emery’s plans at the Premier League club and will have searched for ways to leave even earlier.
Philippe Coutinho’s move to Aston Villa from Barcelona made perfect sense at the time, with the Brazilian allowed to play without pressure at the Midlands club. However, the decision by then-manager Steven Gerrard to pay a stunning €20 million sum to sign him permanently perplexed several, and some had a weird feeling about it.
Coutinho not only failed to produce, but his form appeared to be off compared to how he was throughout his loan period. Many supporters realized at that point that the €20 million may have been a waste of money on a player who was far from his best.
Coutinho’s career has been a whirlwind since leaving Liverpool in a huge deal. He underperformed at Barcelona and even had a treble-winning loan spell at Bayern Munich. As a result, trophies and plaudits have flown for the 31-year-old playmaker throughout his troublesome years, and things aren’t looking good at Aston Villa right now.
Unai Emery demoted the 31-year-old playmaker to the bench as soon as he arrived at the club last season. This season, Emi Buendia’s major knee injury may have temporarily opened the door for Coutinho to make his imprint. Nonetheless, the entrance of Nicolo Zaniolo effectively ended that possibility.
There aren’t many clubs eager to sign the Brazilian, and it’s surprising that the Saudis haven’t made an offer for the 31-year-old playmaker. Al Duhail, a Qatari club, is on the verge of signing Coutinho on a season-long loan agreement that will cover his whole salary.
It may appear to be a fantastic deal for Aston Villa, but the 31-year-old is still under contract with the club until 2026. As a result, Emery’s team will be hoping that
