Philippe Coutinho shares how Steven Gerrard convinced him to join Aston Villa
Philippe Coutinho has revealed how a conversation with Steven Gerrard convinced him to join Aston Villa in January.
Coutinho, 29, moved to Villa Park in the winter transfer window after a loan deal, with an option to buy clause, was agreed with Barcelona.
Since then, the Brazilian playmaker has had a big impact in the West Midlands and it seems that would not have happened if it wasn’t for his former Liverpool teammate Gerrard.
“The Premier League is a league I know and I feel good playing. In addition, I was very well received by everyone and this helped a lot,” said Coutinho while on international duty with Brazil, as quoted by the Express & Star.
“Me and Steven Gerrard had a conversation that made me feel very comfortable and motivated. He talked about the Villa project, the goals, what he expected of me and it was something I was looking for too. I believe we made a good decision and things are going well.”
Mercurial
Coutinho has made some start to life at Villa Park.
The former Liverpool and Inter Milan ace has scored four goals and supplied three assists in his 10 appearances for the Villans, including a goal on his debut against Manchester United on 15 January.
Aston Villa’s form has faltered a bit in recent weeks with Gerrard seeing his side lose back-to-back games against West Ham and Arsenal, in which Coutinho’s struggled to get much of a foothold.
However, there are still some favourable games to be played with the likes of Norwich, Burnley and Crystal Palace set for dates against the Villa in the run-in.
Coutinho will no doubt be key in those games, although you’d imagine a player of his calibre to be able to put in man-of-the-match-worthy performances no matter who the opposition is.
Aston Villa fans will no doubt be pleased with Coutinho’s impact so far. But there’s definitely more to come from the pint-sized Brazilian.
In other Aston Villa news, Gerrard will be backed by NSWE in the summer.