Signed, Sealed & Delivered - Gerrard Will Coutinho On Philippe

Following on from the earlier speculation linking us with rather magnificent interest in former Liverpool and current Barcelona attacker Philippe Coutinho, earlier on Tuesday evening, Aston Villa confirmed his arrival at Bodymoor Heath.

Welcome to Aston Villa Football Club, Philippe Coutinho. pic.twitter.com/5NiotkiMaa

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 11, 2022

The 29-year-old Brazilian international has completed his medical, and his work permit has sailed through, so he joins us for the remainder of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign, with us also having an option to buy him in the summer for a reported £33million.

Given the other clubs that were said to have an interest in him, this is a nice coup for Steven Gerrard as he continues to look to stamp his authority on the squad and drive us further forward, and Coutinho is certainly the statement signing many fans had wanted following the arrival of NSWE and from everything I’ve heard about the deal, there’s very little to question here.

All transfers are a risk, but Coutinho’s track record speaks for itself and whilst whether we sign him permanently is an open question, I don’t doubt he’ll have a telling impact when we have him properly back up to speed.

For Coutinho, he’s saying all the right things himself now he’s signed on the dotted line.

“It’s a pleasure to be here; it’s a great club. I spoke a lot with the manager, with Stevie, and he told me about the club and his ambitions. I’m very happy to be here and I’m looking to enjoy my football. I’ve known Stevie for a long time. I played with him and I learned a lot from him. He’s someone who I have big admiration for. I hope to do my best here. For sure, I will work hard, and I hope together we can do good work.”