Aston Villa transfer news as Qatari clubs push to sign Philippe Coutinho, potential exit on cards – Fabrizio Romano
Aston Villa midfielder Philippe Coutinho has chances to leave Villa Park this summer with Qatari clubs pushing to sign him, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Italian transfer guru taking to his personal Twitter account (19 August) shares that Qatari clubs will insist to sign the Brazilian midfielder in the final days of the window.
Coutinho has also had approaches from clubs in Saudi Arabia but Qatari clubs are also pushing with the Brazilian now looking most likely to leave the club in the final days of the summer market.
Romano tweeted: “Qatari clubs will insist to sign Philippe Coutinho from Aston Villa in the final days of the window.
“Approaches also from Saudi but Qatari side pushing. Coutinho has chances to leave in case of good proposal.”
Decision to make
After the long-term injury to Emiliano Buendia, there were certainly chances of Coutinho remaining at Villa Park to fill that void but with every passing news regarding his immediate future, that looks incredibly unlikely.
And the latest signing of Galatasaray forward Nicolo Zaniolo on a season-long loan could now certainly push Coutinho even further towards the Villa Park exit door.
Coutinho signed for Villa for a big-money £17million fee last summer from Barcelona after a successful loan spell with the club the season before where he hit eight goal involvements (five goals and three assists) from 16 Premier League starts (19 appearances in total).
However, since then, the former Liverpool player’s form and confidence took an incredible hit, with injuries proving the decisive factor, only making just three starts since the turn of 2023.
In fact, Coutinho’s star has sadly been on the wane over the past few seasons and the 2022-23 campaign did indicate a player who struggles to influence a game like he used to. It seems the Premier League intensity always seems to overwhelm him when he takes to the pitch, which suggests he may already be past his best at the age of 31.
A Qatari or Saudi move is one he may have to consider at this stage of his career.
In other Aston Villa news, one player Unai Emery loves faces arguably the biggest test of his career at Villa Park following a dreadful new development.