Premier League club Aston Villa also have an option to make Philippe Coutinho’s transfer permanent at the end of the season.
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Aston Villa fans have reason to celebrate after their club completed a massive coup in acquiring Philippe Coutinho on loan from Spanish giants Barcelona until the end of the season. The agreement, subject to the player passing his medical and obtaining a work permit, also has an option to make Coutinho’s transfer permanent at the end of the season. Barcelona informed that the Premier League club will pay part of the Brazilian’s wages and the attacking midfielder is expected to travel to Birmingham soon. After getting global recognition for his consistent displays at Liverpool, Coutinho was signed by Barcelona for a massive transfer fee in January 2018.
However, the Brazilian failed to live up to the expectations in Spain, as he struggled to hold down a first-team place at the Nou Camp. This meant that he spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Bayern Munich. In a statement, Aston Villa wrote, “Aston Villa and FC Barcelona have agreed terms for Philippe Coutinho to spend the rest of this season on loan at Villa Park. The agreement, which is subject to the player completing a medical and receiving a work permit, also includes an option to buy and Philippe will travel to Birmingham in the next 48 hours.”
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Meanwhile, Barcelona released a statement of their own, which read, “FC Barcelona and Aston Villa have reached an agreement for the loan of the player Philippe Coutinho until the end of the season. The agreement, subject to the player passing his medical and obtaining a work permit, includes an option to make the transfer permanent. The English club will pay part of the player’s wages and the midfielder is expected to travel to Birmingham in the next few hours.”
Welcome, Philippe Coutinho! ?
Aston Villa and FC Barcelona have agreed terms for Philippe Coutinho to spend the rest of this season on loan at Villa Park. ??
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 7, 2022
Philippe Coutinho was born on 12th June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He arrived at Barca in January 2018. Coutinho made his debut in a Copa del Rey game against city rivals Espanyol. In total he has made 106 appearances as a blaugrana, scoring 26 goals and his record is 65 wins, 24 draws and 15 defeats, as per the Spanish club’s statement.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard on Thursday heaped praise on Coutinho ahead of signing him on loan from Barca. “Sixty-three caps for Brazil, a serial winner, was incredible at Liverpool, so I can understand why he’s linked to a lot of football clubs,” Gerrard had said.
“I can understand why a lot of supporters up and down the country are speaking about him. I don’t think you get a nickname as a magician if you’re not a special footballer, so he’s someone I have an incredible amount of respect for. But I don’t want to add to any speculation, because he belongs to Barcelona.”
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