Aston Villa open €40 million Barcelona investment, Steve Gerrard hints

Philippe Coutinho has put his Barcelona nightmare behind him, at least for the time being, and is shining on loan at Aston Villa. Since joining the Premier League club in January, the 29-year-old has thrived, helping the Villans stitch together a run of positive results.

Results have not gone the Villans’ way of late, though, as they have lost three games in a row, most recently to Wolves on Saturday. Irrespective of the disappointing run, Coutinho continues to be an important element of manager Steven Gerrard’s plans.

And, the former Liverpool captain claimed in his post-match interview that he expects the Aston Villa owners to invest in the squad heavily in the summer, subtly hinting that there is a chance that they could sign Coutinho permanently.

 “What the owners have done for this club has been phenomenal in terms of support.  I don’t think they will change because given the communication I have had, they are very ambitious and want to win games, like me.

“We are aligned from top to bottom in the club. All my close staff know where we are strong and where we need support,” Gerrard said, as quoted by SPORT.

As part of the loan agreement with Barcelona, Aston Villa have the option of signing Coutinho for a fee of €40 million. And judging by Gerrard’s comments, it would seem like the English club will not hesitate to trigger that clause.

Wages could pose an issue considering the big-money deal that the Brazilian international has in place at Barça. However, it has been reported that the ex-Liverpool ace would be willing to take a pay cut to secure a permanent move to Villa Park.

Aston Villa’s owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, have not held back on spending on new players since the club’s promotion to the Premier League in 2019. Indeed, the Midlands club have spent around €350 million over the past two and a half years.

Whether they are willing to continue with that approach and splash the €40 million required to sign Coutinho remains to be seen.