A return to the Premier League was what Philippe Coutinho needed to recover his best version. Since signing for Aston Villa in the winter market, the Brazilian has scored 4 goals and 3 assists in 9 games. Hence, Steven Gerrard, current coach of the Villans and former partner of Coutinho in Liverpool, does not want to part with the player so quickly. The one that was the most expensive signing in the history of FC Barcelona arrived at Birmingham on loan until the end of the season, with a non-mandatory purchase option. Although Aston Villa already knew that the price set by Barça if they wanted to take ownership of Philippe Coutinho was 40M euros, it has been the performance shown in just two months of competition that has pushed the English side to do the math to sign him .
The Villans They have already invested the more than 100M euros that Jack Grealish left when he was transferred to Manchester City last summer, signing players like Emiliano Buendía, Leon Bailey or Danny Ings. That is why, according to reports from England, Steven Gerrard’s team could make money with some of the most and best valued players in the squad in order to execute the purchase option for Coutinho. From Football Insider They affirm that Brighton, which has been probing the forward market since the last winter transfer window, would have set its sights on the aforementioned Danny Ings, a proven 29-year-old forward who came to Aston Villa from Southampton. The Villans they paid around 30M euros for the English footballerwho had just scored 46 goals in his last 3 seasons with the Saints, and would like to at least recover the important investment made.
Although Danny Ings is enjoying opportunities at Villa Park both with Dean Smith and since the arrival of Steven Gerrard –22 games this season, 18 starts–, the rotations at the top of the attack with Ollie Watkins, with greater projection (26 years) and better figures in front of goal (7 goals and 1 assist compared to 5 goals and 5 assists by Ings), and the desire of the English manager to retain Philippe Coutinho could open the door for him to leave. Although the former Southampton striker signed until 2024 with the Birmingham team, Football Insider points out that “Villa has been one of the teams that has spent the most in the Premier League in recent years” and “Gerrard’s side are expected to spend big again next summer and may have to sell some veteran stars to help reshape their squad.”.