Aston Villa should oblige transfer interest in Philippe Coutinho from Vasco da Gama
Aston Villa playmaker Philippe Coutinho still remains a popular asset despite his drop in form over the last year, with former employers Vasco da Gama declaring their interest in signing the Brazilian this summer.
The CEO of the Brazilian club, Luiz Mello, refused to rule out a move for the former Liverpool man in his press conference earlier this week.
Coutinho, who started his career at Vasco and made his way through the youth ranks there, has struggled to impact proceedings since sealing his permanent £17million move to Villa Park last summer, scoring just one goal and recording zero assists this season.
As relayed by O Dia, Mello said of Coutinho: “We never created the expectation of bringing a specific player. If Philippe Coutinho is willing, available and fulfils all the requirements, he would be very welcome.
“It is much more on his part to want to return than for us to bring him, just like Alex Teixeira [who returned in 2022].”
If the 30-year-old’s former employers were to come snooping for him in the summer transfer window, Villa should look to cut their losses and part ways with the playmaker.
Unfortunately, despite showing bursts of his goalscoring threat and world-class ability when he originally signed on loan from Barcelona in January 2022, his form has fallen off a cliff this season.
Once his former teammate Steven Gerrard was sacked at Aston Villa, Emi Buendia was quickly restored to the first team, and Coutinho has been fighting a losing battle ever since.
According to the Opta-powered stats on Fbref, the Brazilian is only in the 15th percentile of non-penalty expected goals while also sitting in the bottom 2% for expected assists over the last year, from players in the same position in Europe’s top-five leagues.
Coutinho also sits in the bottom half of attacking midfielders in terms of progressive carries (2.85 per 90), successful take-ons (1.27 per 90) and touches in the penalty area (3 per 90).
When compared to direct competitor Buendia, the former £142million Barcelona signing comes out below him in every single one of the departments mentioned above.
His attacking returns of six goals and three assists from 39 games since joining the club simply won’t cut it for Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, who are banging on the door of Europe as the Premier League season reaches its final furlong. [Transfermarkt]
So if Vasco da Gama, or any other suitors for that matter, were to come knocking for Coutinho’s services in the summer transfer window, the clear decision for Aston Villa would be to oblige and let the Brazilian leave the club.
In other Aston Villa news, we can exclusively reveal that Manchester United are set to sign this highly-rated Villa player.