Daniel Feliciano

Mon 26 December 2022 16:10, UK

Unai Emery has made his decision on Philippe Coutinho’s Aston Villa future, with the Brazilian set to feature against Liverpool on Boxing Day.

The former Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich playmaker joined Villa on an initial loan deal last January as Steven Gerrard used his connections from his playing days to lure the Brazil international to the Midlands.

After an initial strong start with important goals and assists, his form quickly fell off a cliff. Gerrard opted to stand by him though to his own demise.

Fast forward to the next January transfer window, due to open next week, and Gerrard is no longer the manager at Villa Park and many people consider Coutinho to be surplus to requirements at the club.

Many people expected new boss Emery to leave Coutinho at the way-side and work towards getting him out of the club, using the money to bolster his squad elsewhere and rely on his other options in attacking positions to get through to the summer window.

Leon Bailey, Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendia and Jacob Ramsey provide solid options, plus with the youth of Cameron Archer backing them up.

But as the team prepares for a return to Premier League action against Liverpool on Boxing Day, Emery has admitted that he will include Coutinho in his squad for the game against his former club and in the games to come over the next few weeks.

“Coutinho had two or three training sessions when I arrived here. He trained very well before the injury. He was very excited to try to show me his best qualities,” he shared, as quoted by The Daily Mail (26 December)

“The injury was in a bad moment for everybody, for him, for the club, for the team. Now, he is training every day and I am seeing him really training well.

“I expect of him the best Coutinho possible. For him on Monday it is a special match against Liverpool and I think he is going to be in the squad.

“He is not ready to play 90 minutes, but I am looking forward to seeing him on the pitch and with his quality he can help us a lot.”

Whether you agree with the decision or not, it’s hard to argue with Emery that when Coutinho is at his best his quality would be a huge help to the creativity problems that Villa have had in recent months.

Expecting him to perform immediately after a relatively long-term injury wouldn’t be fair on him, but as his fitness builds he will be given a chance to show why Aston Villa were so willing to spend big cash on him less than a year ago.

If an offer comes in then a decision will need to be made, and it should be seriously considered no matter what, but there will be no excuses for him now if he fails to deliver.

The manager believes in him, he’s going to get the platform to perform and his future is on the line. If that doesn’t motivate him, nothing will.

In other Aston Villa news, Olsen has a huge opportunity to show he has a future at Aston Villa v Liverpool