Philippe Coutinho to Aston Villa: Analysing his position, expected wage, age and recent stats

Aston Villa have made their first move of the January transfer window, bringing in Brazilian Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona.

The deal see’s Coutinho move to Villa Park initially for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign but the club have confirmed that there is an ‘option to buy’ upon the expiry of his loan.

It’s a statement of intent from the claret and blue, there’s no denying it and it’s a move that really does emphasise the pulling power that new manager Steven Gerrard has.

Gerrard played alongside Coutinho at Liverpool so knows him better than most and their personal relationship is said to have been a key factor in getting the deal over the line.

What the signing does show is that the ambition from the Villa hierarchy is far more than just words. There are dreams of Europe at this great club and signings like the little Brazilian back that up.

There is of course those that are skeptical over the 29-year-old and have asked the question whether he can still do it on the biggest stage.

His struggles at Barcelona were well publicised but were things ever really that bad? You can form your own opinion on that.

Position

The beauty of Coutinho is his ability to play in multiple positions in forward areas.

Throughout his career he has switched predominantly between LW and CAM however he is also able to be deployed as a RW or CF.

Left-wing is where he has spent the majority of his time however it is likely that Gerrard sees him more as a central attacking midfielder, especially with the strength the claret & blue find themselves with on the wing.

Villa have really lacked a creative midfielder this season to play in front of the more defensive John McGinn / Douglas Luiz / Marvelous Nakamba combo - Coutinho is a pretty solid solution to the problem.

Expected wage

Numerous sources have the Brazilian’s wage at Barcelona somewhere around the figure of £150,000 per week. Not bad.

The big plus for Villa is that they won’t be paying the full whack with the La Liga giants confirming that ‘the English club will pay part of the player’s wages.’

It has been reported that the claret & blue will pay around 65% of the 29-year-old’s wages meaning his services will be setting Villa back around £97,500 per week for the remainder of the campaign.

Age

Coutinho feels like one of those players that has been around much longer than he actually has.

At just 29-years-old, the Brazilian is very much in the prime of his career.

He doesn’t turn 30 until June so if Villa do take the option to buy at the end of the loan spell, they’ll still have a player with plenty left in the tank.

Recent statistics

With the enormous negativity that has come his way from many in Spain, you’d think his statistics aren’t worth reading. Well, you’d be wrong.

The Brazilian scored 25 goals in 106 appearances (70 starts) for Barcelona - that’s essentially a goal every four games. If you’re offered that for a midfield player, most would snap your hands off.

It’s a record better than a lot of strikers boast and he also provided 15 assists in that time.

His loan spell with Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 season just proved that he can do it at the top level still, too.

In 39 appearances for the German side he scored 11 goals and made 14 assists - including two worldies against his parent club Barcelona in the Champions League in that famous 8-2 thrashing.

Overall, his career statistics read 101 goals and 75 assists in 427 appearances.

Are you happy with the signing of the little Brazilian, Villans? Let us know down below.

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