Sean Fisher

Wed 14 December 2022 20:43, UK

Unai Emery was brought in by Aston Villa to save their season and eventually make them European contenders, but his first task will be tackling the Philippe Coutinho problem.

Emery has made a very bright start to life at Villa Park, picking up six points in the Premier League with wins over Manchester United and Brighton in his first two league fixtures.

But the Spaniard’s project in Birmingham has only just begun, and he still has plenty of questions to answer – one of which being the role Coutinho has to play in his tenure.

As reported by the Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece, Coutinho is back available for Emery after returning from a ruptured quad injury. All eyes now turn to the Spaniard, who has to decide whether or not to reintroduce the attacking midfielder to his lineup.

Coutinho looked like a real coup for the Villans during his first year at the club on loan, but his form has fallen off a cliff since his permanent £17million move in the summer. [Sky Sports]

From being one of the first names on Steven Gerrard’s teamsheet last season, suddenly it’s hard to identify where Coutinho fits in this Villa team – if at all.

The 30-year-old is one of the best players in the league on his day and can run a game single-handedly when in form, but as Villa fans have seen this season – he can frustratingly ghost through games when things aren’t going his way.

The loss of Gerrard will also likely have an impact on Coutinho, who joined Villa after being attracted by the prospect of working under his former Liverpool teammate.

It’s now down to Emery to remotivate, reignite and rediscover everything that made Coutinho so brilliant during his first season with the club.

A number of Villa players have already looked rejuvenated under Emery since he replaced Gerrard, but it’s yet to be seen whether he can have the same effect over Coutinho.

In other Aston Villa news, a new passing stat shows Unai Emery must keep Jacob Ramsey in an advanced position