Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - October 2, 2022. Aston Villa's Philippe Coutinho reacts.
Aston Villa could be looking to get out-of-favour midfielder Philippe Coutinho off their wage bill, according to an update from transfer expert Dean Jones.
The Lowdown: Coutinho struggling for minutes
With each passing week, the more Coutinho’s spell at Villa Park has to be considered a disappointing one, having joined the club this time last year.
The Brazilian is struggling for playing time under Unai Emery and he has only started six games in the Premier League all season, with only 156 minutes in total coming for the new manager.
Coutinho has been linked with a January exit, namely a move to Brazilian outfit Corinthians, and it is a rumour that is refusing to go away.
The Latest: January exit possible
Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones claimed that Villa would indeed be happy to sell the 30-year-old this month, suggesting a winter exit would aid new additions:
“He’s just not able to prove himself. With Coutinho, I think that if you can get him off the wage bill, it will give you more scope to reframe the squad in the way the new manager wants to.”
The Verdict: Right time to sell
Coutinho made such a promising start to life at Villa, scoring on his debut against Manchester United, but things have unravelled for him as time has gone on.
He simply doesn’t look like the same player who once wowed at Liverpool – Roberto Firmino has called him ‘magical’ in the past – and just five goals and three assists in 38 appearances is a testament to that.
The fact that Coutinho is earning an eye-watering £125,000 per week makes his poor form even harder to stomach, so getting that money off Villa’s wage bill feels like a complete no-brainer.
He is a player who peaked a while ago now, and once he does move on from Villa, the club will have to see his signing as an expensive gamble that backfired.
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